Firefly oneshots
by Killer Ladybug
Summary: These are a series of oneshots. there will be slash and not slash. so if this offends you don't click on it. the main chacture that i use is Simon so he will be in most of them. Enjoy! And don't forget to review!
1. Chapter 1

(I own nothing!)

(This will most likely be a series of one shots. The main character will mostly be Simon since he is the easiest for me to write. There will be slash. And any continuation of a one shot will be marked. Enjoy!)

Story: (takes place in Ariel after Mal warns/ threatens Jayne and leaves him in the outer hold

Mal climbed the stairs his mind whirling. Jayne would most likely not try to sell Simon and River out again, but over the years Mal had learned that people surprise you. He thought back on what Jayne had said countless times 'they ain't apart of this crew and they will end up getting us killed!'Simon and River filled the last to empty spot that no one had known needed to be filled. But that didn't change the fact that they needed protection and put his whole crew at risk just being here. And Mal hated protection details and even more so when you're not getting paid. River could take care of herself but that brother of hers was as dangerous as a foal and just as easy to startle. His lily white skin and dark eyes reminded Mal of a foal he had owned on the ranch. It had been completely white and it's eyes wary of everyone. Mal could still remember the look on the horse's face, a constant look of fear on its face.

"Captain?" Mal jumped and turned to see the very thing his mind had been dwelling on. (Simon not the horse.)

"What you doin' down here, Doc? There something you need?" Mal studied the Doc, his eyes blatantly staring. He realized that the Doc was looking at him expectantly.

"Well?" Simon asked arching his eyebrow.

"Umm…Run that by me again." Simon sighed and Mal was sure that if not for his core breeding Simon would have rolled his eyes.

"I said that I need to give you this shot. It's a booster shot, it came in with the supplies." Mal noticed that Simon left out the fact that they had been stolen. Simon reached out for Mal's arm and began to swab it with a foul smelling alcohol.

"Where did you learn to plan heists like that?" Mal asked watching as Simon filled the needle with a clear liquid.

"If you're asking if I have done criminal activity before in my life then I must inform you that it is none of your business." Simon said pushing the needle into Mal's arm.

"If you're on my ship it is my business." Mal placed a hand on Simon's hand stopping his work. "And I don't need someone getting killed because of something you're not telling me."

"Anything I'm not telling you is for a reason. I got my sister out an Alliance facility without anyone stopping me." Simon said changing the subject. "So what I can't figure out is how the feds found out we were at the hospital. You have any guesses?" Simon injected Mal.

"Well, maybe someone saw you?"

"Someone used their ex-ray vision to see through the caskets?" Simon slid out the needle. "Mal, my plan was flawless. The only way it could have gone wrong was if someone tipped off the feds that we were coming." Simon placed a piece of gauze over the puncture sight.

"Well, there were a lot of people there that could have…"Simon cut him off.

"I chose that hospital because of the placement of the police stations. The feds would not have been able to get there if they had not already been tipped off as to our location."  
"Well…"

"Mal, you and your crew seem to be under a false assumption that I can't take care of myself. And as much as I appreciate it, I can deal with Jayne on my own, thank you." Simon said looking at Mal.

"How did you…?"

"Know? Simple he's the only one that would be stupid enough to trust the feds. Anyway it was part of the plan. I knew Jayne wouldn't miss an opportunity to get me and River off the ship, so I used it to my advantage. So not only do I now have a better understanding of the kind of people their sending after River, but Jayne is so worried that the rest of the crew, myself included, will find out that he'll leave me alone for a while and I can do some work without interruption." Mal stared at Simon slack jawed. Simon smiled.

"Well, I better go let Jayne in and give him more of that hero bullshit." Stretching Simon walked off in the direction of the cargo bay. Mal stared after his retreating form. Yep, people really can surprise you.


	2. Chapter 2

(I own nothing!)

I stood looking at the crew playing a game of 'throw the ball through the hoop at any cost' or at least that was how Jayne played it. I watched as River shot a goal and did a little victory dance with Kaylee. She was doing better today and the medicine was working for now. But the damage would take a lot of time and work to heal completely.

"Hey, Simon!" At the sound of my name I looked down to see Kaylee waving at me. I waved back. We had sorted things out and now we're closer than I'd like to be. But still just friends as she was now dating Inara, thanks to me. It had started when I had gotten more than a little tired of getting the evil eye from Inara every time I even sat near Kaylee so I fixed them up by swapping their diaries. And just as I knew it would, their curiosity got the better of them, and after several awkward moments and a locked engine room door, again courtesy of me, they are now happy as proverbial clams. Maybe the Captain was right and I did have a talent for crime.

"Want to come and join us? The other team could really use your help, they're somewhat lacking today." Jayne growled at the comment lunging for the ball as River seeing what he was doing danced it out of reach. The teams appeared to be boys against girls, with Book and Inara as the referees.

"No, thank you."

"Come on you, can help me and Shepherd referee."

"I said no thank you!" I snapped and swept out of the cargo hold. I hadn't meant to be so assertive but it was for the best. At any moment I could have to shoot one of them if they turned on us, at any port I could have to grab River and leave without so much as a good bye, and at any second I could have to kill them to keep River safe. Getting close would only make things harder. I reached the infirmary and began to work on the next heist to get a tissue regenerator from one of the Alliance hospitals. The hospital had fewer guards but better surveillance.

After perfecting the plan, I pulled up the file on my padd that held quite a few important things, like a certain Firefly's schematics, a list of all the friends that wouldn't sell us out to the Alliance, where all my emergence supplies were stored on each planet, all my notes on River's condition, the escape plans for any possible situation and each of the crew's profiles. The profiles were basic profiles, their likes, their dislikes, their jobs on and off the ship, a basic biography (you'd be surprised at what you can learn by simply listening) and a list of their strengths and weaknesses. Mal's was the only one missing the most information; and almost all of the things I had learned had been learned from the crew's incessant need to gossip.

"You know Kaylee really wanted you to play." I jumped having not heard the Captain enter. I quickly pulled up the heist as to not show the Captain I was planning what he may consider mutiny; I merely thought of it as survival. I placed the padd on my lap face down hoping the Captain wouldn't notice. He didn't, I relaxed a little.

"I wasn't feeling up to it."

"Really, too tired to referee? Which consists of sitting on your butt doing almost nothing?" Smartass.

"What you working on that's so much more important than watching the girls beat us to a pulp?" Okay so he did notice because next thing I knew he had snatched the padd off my lap and was studying it intently.

"Another heist? Why Doc, I dare say that we're having a bad influence on you!" He was laughing. I relaxed and like the last time I relaxed, something bad happened.

"What's this?"He tapped the tab button and pulled up the file I really did not want him to read. As he read his face became clouded over. The room was so quiet I could hear my heart beating like a time bomb in my chest. He stopped reading and looked at me with eyes of contemplation and interest.

"You really don't trust anyone do you?" I watched for the anger and the airlock.

"Half the stuff you have in here about the crew and Serenity is information that we don't talk about much and don't want people to know. So what I want to know is how do you happen to know it?" No sign of anger…yet.

"I listen and watch. No one is as good at hiding secrets as they think they are, they let things slip. Even a simple phrase can tell you something about them. Like you."

He raised an eye brow.

"Your coat is brown."

"So nice of you to notice the obvious."

"But that tells me nothing. A lot of people wear brown coats. The way you talk, you use slang that the Browncoats used so that tells me that you were in the war and which side you were on. The way Zoe talks about you and the way you remain calm in tense situations tells me you held a rank in the army, not too high up or you would be listed in the register. You were a lieutenant perhaps?" He twitched. (I don't remember Mal's exact rank so this may be off.)

"The way you regard the Alliance tells me you're still sore about the war. The way you treat your crew tells me that though you won't admit it, you are a noble man and would do anything for your crew. Shall I go on?" Mal shook his head.

"And that is what I know without going on to medical and physical features."

Mal opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a knock on the door. I turn away from Mal to face a wary Kaylee.

"Captain, we're going to play another game. Simon, I know you probably don't want to but you're welcome to play with us." I glance at Mal; his eyes are still looking at me as if all the answers are written on my skin and he just noticed.

"Actually I think I will join you." I smiled at Kaylee and walked out the door.

"If that boy is playing then he is on my team." Mal called out behind me. I laughed.

We won the game. Mal says it's because I was a good player, I say it was because we exchanged Jayne for River. We never talked about the plans again, but every so often I would find my padd missing and then find it somewhere I never would have left it. If I ever have to use this, well that will be an interesting day indeed.


	3. Chapter 3

(I own nothing)

Book sat at the table switching between reading his Bible and reading River's 'fixed' Bible.

"Shepherd?" Book looked up from the fixed Bible to see River standing playing with the hem of her dress.

"Yes, River, what can I do for you?" Book said, turning all his attention to the young reader.

"Why do they call you Father?" River asked tilting her head.

"Well, because I am one."

"But you have no children, so you're not a Father."

"Well, it can be another name for a shepherd and were called that because we act like a Father would. We provide guidance like a father; take care of the sick, etc." River eyes grew wide with understanding.

"So like a child would call a close friend brother or sister?" Book nodded.

"Exactly."

"Thank you…" River stopped and stared at Book intently for a second, and then she smiled. "Thank you Grandfather."

And she swept out of the kitchen and in to the bowels of the ship. Leaving Book to ponder the young girl and whether this would somehow come back around to bite him in the butt.

River walked up silently behind Wash and Zoe in the cockpit.

"Aunt and Uncle." They jumped.

"River, shouldn't you be in the infirmary with your brother?" Zoe asked settling her feathers.

"Not sure who is who. But I know who you are. The funny Aunt and stern but loving Uncle."

"I'm not stern! Lamby toes am I stern?" Wash asked his wife eyes while River rolled hers.

"Not the Uncle. Zoe." They were still confused, River sighed.

"Uncle Zoe and Auntie Wash." They stared at her as if she was… well crazy.

"River, I'm the male so I would be the uncle." Wash explained.

"Gender is irrelevant." She explained as if it were obvious as she walked away.

"Anyway" She called over her shoulder. "Zoe wears the pants." She didn't stay to listen to Wash's indignant spluttering and Zoe laughter, there were more crew to name.

She found her next victims in Inara's shuttle where Kaylee and Inara were talking.

"Sisters." They turned to look at River and smiled.

"Hello, River, what can we do for you?"

"Sisters, you're sisters." River smiled. "We're sisters." Inara stood and wrapped her arms around the two other girls. River smelled lilies and engine grease, the scent of her sisters.

The next two were in the cargo bay shouting at each other.

"Jayne, what have I told you about tying down your weights during takeoff?! One nearly took Doc's head off!" He was referring to their takeoff from the last planet when the takeoff had been less than pleasant.

"He wasn't supposed to be in here in the first place!" Jayne yelled back.

"He was checking the cargo you forgot to tie down! And he nearly got killed for his trouble." Mal growled. River smiled at the way Mal cared for her brother.

"Daddy mad at the puppy?" River asked coming out from her hiding spot.

"What?! Girl, I'm not your puppy and Mal ain't your Daddy.

"Yes, you are more than you know." She stuck Jayne with a look. "Even if we don't want you here most the time." And with a swish of her skirts she was gone.

Later at dinner they were all discussing their new titles.

"So she says I'm the uncle and Wash is the aunt!" They burst out laughing not just from the story but the look on Wash's face. Jayne muttered about his status, Inara and Kaylee gushed about theirs, and they agreed that the Shepherd's suited him, but everyone favorite was the Captain's.

"And the best part is Mal swore he would never be a father." Kaylee snickered.

"Hey Simon, what's yours?" Zoe asked the doctor who was currently getting food for River off the stove.

"He's her brother dear, he already has one."

"No, brother doesn't fit any more." River said waiting for her plate of not-protein. She had no clue what it was but anything was better than protein.

"So what is it?" Mal asked, his interest peaked.

"You don't want to know." Simon said as he placed a plate of food in front of River. River smiled up at him.

"Don't you dare." He warned but it was too late.

"Thank you, Momma." There was dead silence, then a snort from Jayne and then people on Boros could hear them laughing. Simon groaned; it was going to be a long night. The Shepherd looked at him with pitying eyes but was in no way going to tell them it was his fault for their new names.

"River, why is my chair next to the captain's?" Simon asked sitting in said seat.

"You're his wife and wives should sit by their husbands." Mal had unfortunately been taking a sip of Kaylee's home brew at the time. Mal cursed as he coughed and Simon ever the doctor slapped him on the back and handed him a glass of water.

"She has a point." Jayne said. "The Doc is girly enough." Simon glared.

"I'm going to my bunk and wait until you stop laughing." Simon marched out.

"You're going to the wrong bunk." River called out behind him and waited.

"RIIIIVVVEEEEER, where the hell is my stuff?!" River smiled a slightly evil smile.

"There in you husband's bunk. Couples sleep in the same room, don't they?" She asked sweetly. Simon stormed back in.

"River, listen to me, Mal and I aren't married."

"Yet." River said happily, Simon sighed.

"Mal, I'm going to get my things out of your bunk."

"I'm done so I'll help you carry." Mal said as he stood, stretched and followed Simon to his bunk.

River smiled. It won't be long now till it is as real in reality as it is in her head. She took a bite of dinner and was very grateful that Simon would be cooking for Mal when they were married. Because Mal's cooking made her wish they were having protein tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

(I own nothing)

"We're leaving." Mal looked up at the young doctor from his bowl of what he wished wasn't protein.

"What?"

"River and I are leaving Serenity." The rest of the crew had fallen silent to listen.

"Why?" That was the one question Simon had not expected the Captain to ask, but he answered dutifully.

"An old friend of mine knows James Geiger." Mal's eye held no hint of recognition.

"Who?" But to Mal's surprise, Zoe was the one who answered.

"He's a hider. His job is to hide people from the government and he's damn good at it, everyone he has ever hidden has never been found."

"He only runs that form of business for a short bit at a time. River and I only have two days, including today, to get to him. Any later and he won't take us as customers. River and I are already packed and are leaving immediately."

Mal watched as the siblings went around the room and said goodbye. They were going to miss them. They had made an impact on the crew and had wormed their way in to their small family making it two people bigger. Mal was startled out of his thoughts to find Simon standing there holding out his hand. Mal shook it and ignored the urge to wrap the boy in a hug, because if he did they wouldn't be leaving any time soon. He would have stopped them if this wasn't the best option. He could only offer the chance to keep moving; this James guy could get them a decent home and a safe place to hide. Mal watched with sad and worried eyes as the Doc and his sister walked out of their lives. Forever.

Jayne watched and sighed. Things were about to get ugly.

Jayne really hated it when he was right. The Captain was brooding and snapped at anyone who interrupted. Zoe was, well, let's just say when the Captain gets like that, so does Zoe. Kaylee was bawling and Inara was trying to comfort her. Book was reading Scripture about handling loss to anyone who would listen, and Wash was staring at the dinosaurs he had named after River and the Doc.

Finally after being yelled at, having dinosaurs thrown at him, and having his shirt soaked through with Kaylee's tears, he escaped. Walking around the market looking at guns, weapons, and whores, he spotted the thing that would change his luck and hopefully the Captain's attitude.

Mal stared out the bay doors at the hustle and bustle of the crowd, willing the Tams to appear and say 'Surprise! April Fool's day!' or 'I changed my mind and I can't live without you.' One of these days he was going to ban Kaylee from buying any more romance novels, they were affecting his brain; He'd even caught Jayne reading one, or at least the most thumbed parts.

He rested his head on his hand as a couple walked by holding hands. And for a second they were different people in his mind, one was wearing a browncoat and had sandy brown hair and the other had lily white skin and the smell of antiseptic about him. And he was going to burn the novels Kaylee already had.

Mal thought about the way the siblings had changed their lives. River spent most of her time playing games with Kaylee and Inara, while Simon would tell the young mechanic of life in the core and discuss politics and recent events with Inara. River would ruin the Shepherd's Bible and Simon would pay to replace it. River would practice shooting with Zoe and Simon would teach her how to cook, Mal never knew of Simon's taste for danger till he had walked into the infirmary to find Simon nursing a burned arm. He and Zoe had had a long talk after that about the fact that they had only one medic and not to kill him. River would hide Wash's dinosaurs and Simon would help him find them. River would piss off Jayne and then start crying when he retaliated causing him to get an earful from Simon and Kaylee, and Simon would match wits with Jayne in a very unfair fight. River would go with Mal on runs and then tattle tale on him to her brother about if he was hurt and how he got hurt, Simon would heal him and lecture him within an inch of his life and would talk with him late at night when neither could sleep. Mal sighed; it was going to be a long time before the hole the Tams had left would heal.

Jayne walked back on to Serenity several hours later with five large crates; the smile splashed across his mouth caused several infants to start crying. He whistled the tune that went to hero of Canton as he wheeled on the crates.

"Jayne what's with all the crates?" Mal asked as he walked on to the firefly their cargo in tow.

"Uh- I got a good deal on some guns and ammo!" Jayne said hoping Mal would not notice the stutter.

"Well let's take a look shall we?" Mal moved towards the nearest crate and Jayne moved between him and the crate.

"I-I put a special cleaner in with the guns and since the fu-fa- the scent it gives off is ta-to- can kill you." Zoe arched an eyebrow.

"Jayne did you just try to tell that the fumes are toxic?" Jayne nodded. Zoe and Mal exchanged a glance. Since when had Jayne vocabulary grown? Mal turned back to face Jayne.

"You bought toxic guns?"

"No the cleaners can kill you but the guns can't."

"If the guns can't kill why did you buy them?" Mal asked a smirk playing about his lips. Jayne growled. It was more fun to tease the Doc but Jayne would have to do till he found his next victim.

"When does the cleaner wear off?" Zoe asked standing between the two males. Jayne stopped to think, which scared Mal and Zoe to no end.

"In about three days." Mal nodded and punching the comm. told Wash to get them off this piece of rock.

"That'll be about the same time we reach Boros and drop the cargo off with Badger.

They all walked off to the kitchen to ask Kaylee when dinner would be ready. Only to find her crying her eyes out in to a kitchen mitt Simon had made her after he found her trying to take a pot with metal handles off the hot stove. Zoe calmed the girl down.

"Kaylee why don't you go visit Inara and I'll cook dinner." Kaylee shuffled off and Mal turned to Zoe.

"Are you sure? I like my recycled air without smoke in it." Jayne froze his eyes bugging out of his head.

"AIR!" He hollered and shot out of there like a bullet out of one of his guns.

By dinner time Mal had failed to talk Zoe out of cooking and they were now looking death or rather what resembled a form of spaghetti and smelled like raw sewage in the face. Mal poked it and it growled in return, Mal jerked back in his seat away from the feral spaghetti.

"Sorry that was my stomach." Wash said laughing at the look on Mal's face. Zoe glared and they ever so slowly took a bite. And wished they hadn't.

"Zoe what is in this?" Mal gagged.

"It has eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, garlic, protein, maple syrup, orange, and squash in it, why do you ask?"

"Honey what is this?"

"Quiché." All the crew present, except for Jayne since he can eat anything, pushed their plates away.

"Well, I'm starving I haven't eaten since this morning." Shepherd said trying to think of a way to sneak a protein bar without Zoe noticing. Jayne's head shot up, his mouth full of food.

"Ah grud!" He exclaimed grabbing two protein bars and running out of there. Everyone assumed it was because Zoe's cooking had finally hit his stomach.

The next few days were uneventful as they landed on Boros. Jayne had been acting weird since the guns arrived on the ship, sneaking around at night and jumping whenever someone walked to close to the crates.

Mal looked at the mass of moving bodies as he waited for Badger to tell him where they were meeting. Mal growled as several figures moved on to his ship and the rest of his crew, who were also in the cargo hold as well as Inara, stopped.

"I thought I told you not to come on to my ship?" Badger shrugged in his grimy suit.

"I thought I would stop by instead of sending one of my boys to collect and see how my favorite crew was doing." He said smiling a crooked toothed smile. "Well where is the cargo?" Mal weary of the guns Badger's men were carrying motioned for Jayne and Zoe to bring out the cargo. And after a thorough checking of the cargo, Badger smiled and then the smile fell off his face.

"Captain is you moving live cargo?" Badger asked beady little eyes focused on something behind Mal.

"No, why?"

"Then why is that crate moving?" Mal turned to look at where Badger was pointing.

"Jayne, why are your guns trying to escape their crate?" Mal asked moving towards said crate, but was stopped by the barrel of a gun.

"You don't move. Boy's go check it out." Badger called. Jayne looked at Mal.

"I did what was best for the crew."

"Jayne what did you...?" Mal was cut off as Badgers men walked over to the crate and tore off the lid. And like the last time it happened Mal jumped as out of the crate came…River?

"Hi Captain." Mal stared at the girl.

"River what in the 'virse are you...?" He was once again cut off by the sound of girls squealing as Inara and Kaylee having forgotten Badgers orders to not move swarmed the girl.

"River how?" They asked in between sobs.

"I think it is better told with every one hear." She said.

"River, where is your brother?" Mal asked finally able to get a word in edge wise.

"Wash is sitting in him." They turned to look at the pilot who in turn looked at the crate he was sitting on. It gave a violent shake.

"Holy crap." Wash jumped off the crate and opened it to find a very unhappy Doc looking up at him, gagged and bound.

"Why is Simon gagged and bound?" Wash asked helping the Doc out of the crate.

"He was a little less thrilled to be back." Jayne said shrugging.

"We were coming back any way!" Simon snarled after Wash removed the gag. "James got caught on the last job he did and someone was impersonating him. I've seen him before so I knew it wasn't him and ran. Next thing I know I'm being gagged bound and forced in to a tiny container by a lunatic!" Simon glared at Jayne.

"Jayne why the hell did you kidnap them in the first place? You hate them." Zoe asked making sure that she kept an eye on Badger at all times.

"Well everyone was so upset that they were leaving and I really hate it when things get messy. So I thought what if they didn't go? I mean all I had to do was make sure they missed their dead line." Jayne shrugged. "Sounded like a good plan to me."

"Except kidnapping is illegal?!" Simon snarled stretching out his sore muscles.

"Well you're fugitives and I'm a crook so I don't think whining to the Alliance is going to work." Jayne said. "I'll be in my bunk."

"I think I'll just take my cargo and leave." Badger said tossing Mal his payment. Simon stretched.

"Well come on River lets go settle in. That is if were still welcome?" Simon turned to Mal.

"Of course but one condition."

"No leaving, Doug ma?"

"Doug ma." Simon turned and walked in to the ship with their bags and River in tow. River stopped and turned to Mal as her brother went on a head.

"What if Jayne isn't there to stop him next time and the man is real?" River said looking Mal in the eye. "What will you do then?"

"I won't let there be a next time." Mal said walking after Simon. River smiled. No there wouldn't be. And she turned and walked back in to parts of Serenity unknown to anyone but her. It was good to be home.


	5. Chapter 5

(I own nothing)

I sat there reciting from memory the lecture that I had written specially for Mal and had to recite three or four times a week. The one in which I stitch or weave or bandage and lecture while Mal winces and rolls his eyes. At the moment it was bandaging and lecture, I was grateful I had been running out of medical string. I sighed and tying the bandage finished the lecture.

"How does that feel not too tight?" I looked up from the newly bandaged chest wound and found that Mal was fast asleep. His chest rose and fell in the deep recesses of sleep. I smiled; he was so calm when he sleeps as opposed to when he was awake and a blur of movement.

I stroked his hand and thought about the man in front of me. This man had built a family out of strangers and unsuspecting victims. He had survived a hell called Serenity Valley; I had read about the horrors and wondered how much Mal had seen. But he had walked away with Zoe and his life and for that I was grateful.

I ran a hand over his chest tracing one of the many scars I had sown after his run in with Niska. I shuddered at the memory of when they had told me Mal had been taken. I felt like the hard cold floor had fallen out from beneath me and all I could think was 'please don't let him be dead.' When Zoe handed me Mal's ear and I told her I could reattach it, I prayed that there was something to reattach it to. I had felt like singing when he walked back onto Serenity, because he was alive but he was hurt but that didn't matter because he was back in my hands and I would walk straight into an Alliance facility to get him better.

I brushed his hair out of his face. He glowed with a warmth that made you want to touch him just to see if you would feel it. He had taken in River and me and forcefully made us family when he came back for us. And had liberated my heart from my chest and held it and he didn't even know it.

I realized I was slowly leaning in to touch my mouth to his in a brief kiss. Mind of my being told me that Mal could wake up at any moment, and my heart told my mind exactly where to stick it. Our lips met and I wished that this moment would never end and then the next one came and I pulled away. I blushed realizing what I had just done and hurried out of the infirmary. If he had woken up, what would have happened?

But Mal didn't need to wake up. He had never fallen asleep. He had pretended to be asleep to escape the lecture and found out something he should have seen before.

"This is going to be a problem." Mal said brushing his lips with his tongue gathering the traces of the Doc's taste, the memory of the Doc's soft lips fresh in his mind.

THISISASECTIONLINETHISISASECTIONLINETHISISASECTIONLINETHISISASECTIONLINE

I was walking around Serenity after another sleepless night. I sighed. Maybe I will take the Doc up on that offer of sleeping pills. And I just had to bring him up. It had been a week since the incident in the infirmary and it was still fresh in my mind. And the fact that I've been noticing things I wish I wasn't since the incident. The way the Doc walked about the ship, all graceful like, the way he held his sister when she woke up screaming in the middle of the night and then let her sleep in his bed, the way he gives his all no matter what he's doing and I really don't need to be thinking about that.

I was walking passed the infirmary when I noticed there was light on in the infirmary. Walking inside I found the Doc sitting at his desk and resting his head on it.

"Doc, don't you think you should be in bed? Oh." The Doc had fallen asleep in the middle of; I checked the title, some book I can't pronounce the name of. I chuckled. That boy really needs to learn when to call it quits. I watched him for a few seconds, before a stray thought raced across my mind. It's only fair, I thought leaning down and kissing the corner of the Doc's mouth. Yep, they're just as soft as I remember.

"This is going to make the problem worse." I jumped and turned to face the person who apparently thought that as soon as her brother fell asleep she was allowed to get back out of bed.

"River what the hell are you doing up?" I asked the girl.

"I believe the real question is what are you doing Captain?" She had a smile on her face that made my blood run cold. "Don't break him or…"

"You'll break me?" She shook her head.

"No, you break him, you'll break yourself and that will break Serenity." River turned and began to walk out. "And Mal?"

"Yes?" I looked at her and the crazy look was gone from her eyes completely.

"All crazy logics aside don't hurt him, Okay?" All I could do was nod, and then the craziness was back and she walked out humming. The girl that had just spoken was who Simon was risking his life to bring back and now I knew why.

I looked at Simon and saw someone who needed to have something that he didn't have to give up for his sister. I smiled and leaning down I kissed his forehead. And walking out I knew I was going to be that thing, now all I had to do was find out how to do that.

Back in the infirmary Simon lifted his head off the desk his face bright red.

"That was a weird dream." Simon muttered brushing his fingertips over the corner of his mouth. "Well that's what I get for falling asleep at a desk instead of going to bed."

He stood and stumbled to his bunk, hoping for a dream like the one he just had.

THISISASECTIONLINETHISISASECTIONLINETHISISASECTIONLINETHISISASECTIONLINE

It had been two weeks since Simon kissed Mal and one week since Mal kissed Simon and both parties were irritated. Mal because he was still trying to think of a way to get Simon and Simon because he was too scared to tell the Captain he was in love with him.

Mal walked in to the kitchen at what would be two a.m. if there were a way to measure time on Serenity. And began to violently make tea, one would think that would not be possible but Mal did it.

"Something wrong Captain?" Mal jumped and turned to see Simon sitting at the table sipping a cup of what looked like sludge and smelled tea.

"No, nothing's wrong. What are you drinking?"

"It's a recipe my Grandma made for when one can't sleep."

"Looks," Mal glanced at the cup and shuddered. "Delicious."

"Tastes like piss." Simon said gagging down another sip. "So Captain what is keeping you up this fine night?"

"Just keeping watch." Mal sat down and took a sip of tea as Simon sipped his, whatever the heck it's called and gagged once again.

"Okay the facial expressions are cute but it can't taste that bad." Mal reached over and tugged the mug out of Simon's hand and took a sip, and then really wished he hadn't.

"What the heck was your Grandma trying to do? Kill you? I drank better slop in the worst part of the war!" Mal walked over to the sink and up turned the cup, nothing came out. Mal finally threw the cup in the trash, but only after five minutes of trying to get it out. Mal poured Simon a cup of tea and forbade him from making that stuff ever again. They sat in silence.

"So…" Simon was at a loss as to what to say and they were rapidly running out of comfortable silence time before it started to get awkward. "How has your day been?"

Mal stared at me for a second and then burst out laughing, my face want red with embarrassment.

"What?"

"Out of everything you could ask me! Simon we live on the same ship, you already know how my day was. I swear you sound like my gorram wife when you ask that." I went redder.

"You okay Doc?" Mal looked worried.

"I just don't like being compared to Saffron." Mal winced.

"That was a cheap shot, Doc." Simon smirked over his cup of tea. "But if it makes you feel any better I'd rather be married to you than Saffron." Simon tried not to beam at the complement Mal gave him.

"That's only because I haven't tried to kill you yet."

"Well maybe I just like you." Mal said leaning closer to Simon. They were almost touching when they heard something. Several something's or rather several some ones.

"Can you see anything?"

"No! Stop pushing!"

"SHHH! Guys they'll hear you!"

"Man named Jayne's head is too big, threatens the proper observation of the experiments movement's."

"What the moonbrain say you think I got a big head?"

"She saying you need to move your fat head so the rest of us can see!"

"I am a leaf, watch me *Smack* OUF!"

"Jayne don't hit Wash!"

"Man named Jayne is very prone to violent attacks on others."

"That he is."

*Smack*

"Hey what was that for?"

"That was for hitting Wash. The Bible clearly says 'Do unto others as you would have them do to you.'

"River that doesn't mean you can hit Jayne."

"Yeah! What he said!"

Mal stood, silently he walked over to the door and grasping the handle he threw it open and barely missed being buried under the avalanche of bodies. The only people who remained standing of the party were River, who had seen it coming, and the Shepherd.

"Now what are you doing up?" Mal asked as he stood over the pile of bodies trying to untangle themselves.

"They were spying Captain, wanted to see the moment Serenity was completed." River said. "They simply set it back but it's still going to happen." This she said smiling to her brother.

"Okay Meimei let's get you to bed." Simon said standing, River glared at him.

"It's still going to happen, even if you run from it. And I'm seventeen I can put myself to bed."

"Yes but will you stay there?" She stuck her tongue out, turned and swept off to bed.

"And the rest of you off to bed as well, we have a meet with Badger tomorrow, I need you bright eyed and gun ready." Mal said making a shooing motion as the crew filed off to bed. Mal looked at Simon.

"So where were we before the spy's were found out? And what did your sister mean 'Serenity completed'?" Simon went face red; he knew full well what his sister had meant.

"She said something like that when we found out you were married to Saffron. (For the second time that night Saffron sneezed three times. 'oh great someone is talking about me, a lot.')She said Serenity completed but the puzzle isn't done the wrong piece in the wrong spot. And then she said something about stupid hormonal Captains ruining everything." Simon sipped his now lukewarm tea listening to the indignant spluttering of the Captain.

"I think she meant you were thinking with something other than your brain and so weren't thinking at all." Simon said as soon as the Captain was done spluttering and was taking a sip of his tea. It is both gross and amusing to watch tea come out of your Captain's nose.

"What?"

"Nothing." There was a moment of silence between them. "What did you mean?"

"What did I mean about what?" Mal said looking at the Doc's deep blue not going there right now keep your focus on the conversation.

"The 'Well maybe I just like you' comment what did you mean by it?" Mal's face went as red as Simon's.

"Well what I meant was…I CAN STILL SEE YOU GUYS! GO TO BED ALLREADY BEFORE I LOCK YA'LL IN YOUR BUNKS!" There was a faint shuffling of feet and the slam of bunk doors closing. Mal paused counting the slams. "YOU TOO, JAYNE! NOW GIT!" They listened as a series of Chinese curse words, heavy foot falls and the slamming of a bunk door told them Jayne had left the hallway.

"Doc I think we ought to follow suit and head off to bed." Mal stood and lopped out of the kitchen but if Simon was one thing he, in the words of his sister, was like a pit-bull with a pant leg. So Simon followed him down the hall.

"Not until you tell me what you meant!" Simon grabbed Mal's arm forcing him to stop.

"It's none of your concern." Mal said refusing to face him.

"None of my? Mal if it has something to do with me it is of my concern!"

"Let go of me."

"No not until I know what you meant." Simon said still holding his arm.

"Fine this is what I meant." Mal turned nearly knocking Simon over. Suddenly Simon wasn't so sure who was holding who as Mal walked towards him and he stepped back until his back hit the wall and then Mal was there. Filling his senses, as his mouth was raided by an invading tongue. Everything was Mal; he smelled Mal, tasted him and was ultimately wrapped up in all things Mal. Finally he pulled away leaving Simon to gasp for air.

"That's what I meant. So was it as good as the last time you kissed me?" Simon's face went the sorta pale it goes when one realizes one has had a near brush with death or in Simon's case the air lock.

"You were awake?"

"Yep I think we have established that. You now this would have happened sooner if you had kissed me while I was awake."

"Well it was somewhat better since you were awake this time. So?"

"So what?"

"Was it as good as last time?"

"Last time what?"

"Last time you kissed me?"

"You were awake were you?" Mal said raising an eyebrow.

"Nope, little sisters are so helpful at times." Simon said smiling, leaning up he gave Mal a kiss good night and walked off to bed. Serenity was now completed and only the stars, planets, and Serenity herself witnessed the act. Them and the little girl in the air duct, who's brother was about to find her out of bed, again.


	6. Chapter 6

(I own nothing!)

One would think that being shot at would be highly dangerous and cause many to freak out. Simon Tam merely found it mildly annoying.

He had been in the engine room with Kaylee, helping her put the supplies from the junk yard away. On their way to the kitchen for dinner they had run into some 'trouble.' The trouble consisted of three burly men with guns pointing them in Simon's face while Kaylee hid behind him.

Now to make this perfectly clear Simon Tam is not a gung ho type of man, he has never been one to rush in guns blazing, he is more the type to plan and strategize and then perfectly execute a plan.

But he was good at thinking on his feet. That was the reason the bullet had only grazed him instead of imbedding itself in Kaylee's skull.

Simon was cursing in his head at the fact that Mal found the need to do business with people who constantly tried to kill them.

They were currently running down one of the back passages of Serenity, knocking anything into the path behind them to stop their assailants. They turned down a hallway and Simon grabbed Kaylee, pulling her into a closet. And just as he'd hoped, the morons ran right past them.

"Are they gone?"

"Yes, for now at least." Simon whispered.

"You're bleeding!" Simon slapped a hand over Kaylee's mouth.

"Shhhh! They'll hear you!"

"Sorry. Uh…Simon?"

"What?"

"What's poking my leg?" Simon bent down feeling something cold and hard against his finger tips.

"It's a gun."

"Oh sure it's a gun." Kaylee said sarcastically.

*Click*

"Oh, it really is a gun." Simon looked at her puzzled.

"What did you think it was?"

"Oh nothing!"

"Kaylee, we talked about this. You know I'm…" Simon trailed off still embarrassed to say it out loud. Kaylee giggled.

"I know but you can't stop a girl from hoping." She said smiling sadly. "But didn't the Captain's pants look tighter today than usual?"

"Kaylee!"

"Sorry I can't help myself!"

"I noticed."

"But you have to admit that he-". She was abruptly cut off by shouting coming from the cargo hold. Apparently Mal had just found the intruders and wasn't very happy about it. Several yells, girly screams and a few gun shots later Simon heard someone walking right outside their hiding spot. Thinking it was Mal or one of the crew, he peeked out. What he saw and heard next made his blood freeze in his veins. Standing outside the door was one of the three thugs.

"Yeah, boss, we got them. The Captain was a problem but we dealt with him so he won't be a problem. We got him and the others tied up in the cargo bay ready and waiting for your arrival."

Simon's blood went from cold to burning hot in a second. He was mad. He was mad at the thugs for turning the place where he and his sister had found peace into a warzone, he was mad that the crew were in danger but most of all he was mad at Mal for making him care enough to do the crazy thing he was about to do.

"Kaylee, I have a plan."

Mal sat tied to a chair in the cargo hold as were the rest of his crew. The three goons had come out of nowhere interrupting dinner. The crew hadn't had their guns on them because the Shepherd had a rule about no guns at the dinner table. He hadn't seen Simon or Kaylee yet and he could only hope that meant that the lugs hadn't found them and not that they had been killed.

*CRASH*

The three thugs looked up from their game of craps and the biggest turned to look at Mal to see if he had made the noise.

"Go check it out." The smaller two grabbed their guns and headed off to find the source of the noise. Then he turned back to Mal. "That had better have been a mouse because if it wasn't, let me put it this way: we've run out of rope."

Several minutes passed and the two meat sacks had yet to return. Snarling, the leader of the trio grabbed his comm. and growled into it. He didn't have time to say anything because of a click and a voice I recognized.

"Put your hands up and drop the comm." Mal turned his head to see the strangest sight. Standing there, a gun pointed at the goon's head, was the Doc and he didn't look too happy. The thug complied, dropping the comm. and putting his hands in the air. Looks like we might get out of here yet…and then Jayne opened his big mouth.

"That's my old water gun!" Jayne said. Mal made a mental note to kill Jayne later if the thugs didn't. The goon smiled and reached for his gun, seeing this Simon pulled the trigger and out shot a stream of red liquid. It hit the goon in the face and he howled in pain. Simon bolted through the door with the goon close on his heels until…

*WHAM*

Serenity's happy-go-lucky-wouldn't-hurt-a-fly-mechanic stepped out from her hiding space behind the door and slammed her biggest crowbar into his head. Simon walked back to where she was standing over the goon and smiled.

"Nice swing." Kaylee turned and swung the crowbar at Simon's head. He ducked, and heard the unmistakable sound of metal hitting flesh. The thug who had been about to grab Simon crumpled like wet cardboard to the floor.

"Sorry, I thought one whack was enough."

Kaylee began to untie the crew as Simon dragged the last goon in and tied them up.

"You guys okay?" Mal nodded rubbing the sore spot on his arm where the ropes had dug into his skin. He took a deep breath and went into Captain mode.

"You could have been shot and killed! What the hell were you thinking? If you were thinking at all which I highly doubt!" Mal yelled at them. Simon of course yelled back.

"We were thinking that being shot was better than letting you take a trip out the air lock!" Mal glared at him and stalked off. Simon snarled and headed for the infirmary.

Later after hearing Kaylee's tales of the rescue, Mal headed down to the infirmary to talk to the Doc.

"Hey, Doc?" He asked poking his head in to the infirmary.

"What, Captain?" Simon answered without turning to face him.

"What was in that water gun?" Mal leaned against the door frame. Simon sighed, this was Mal's way of making peace with Simon, ignore the problem and act interested in what he was doing, once after a fight Simon had been brushing up on his Latin and had spent a good 30 minutes laughing at Mal's attempts to pronounce the words before telling him it was a dead language. Simon didn't need to hear Mal say he was sorry and Mal didn't need to say it. It went unspoken like the other important things in the relationship. Because if you were to say something unsaid other unsaid things might slip out.

"Hot sauce."

**Sorry guys, that it took so long to up date but the computer I'm currently typing on is from the dinosaur age and the keyboard hurts to type on (no wrist support :'( ) I'll try to up date soon! **


	7. Chapter 7

(I own nothing)

I rubbed the blade of my best scalpel removing any molecule of dirt that dares land on it.

"Doc?"

I sighed. The Captain had been bugging me every day for the past week.

"What do you need now, Captain?"

"We're going out on a run to a bar and I need you to come with." I sighed again, rubbing my temples, willing the impending migraine to cease and desist.

"And why is that, Captain?"

"Because the contact is going to meet us there for the next job, his boss is a very respectable man and having you there will…well…"

"Make you seem more respectable?"

"Well, yeah."

"So I'm being brought along to sit there and look pretty, so you can look more respectable?"

"Yep." I sighed once again and looked at the Captain.

"Fine, I'll go."

"I wasn't asking." And coat tails flapping out behind him, Mal made his exit. I stuck out my tongue at where the Captain had been standing.

"Oh and Doc?" I quickly retracted my tongue as Mal poked his head around the corner.

"Yes, Captain?"

"No need to dress too fancy, don't want someone walking off with ya. Your soft lily skin says respectable enough on its own."

"Was that an insult or a compliment? Oh, wait, it came from you, so insult. You know Mal, it's fascinating how a compliment from anyone else is an insult from you." Mal ignored the comment but I noticed the tic in his jaw that meant I had just pushed some buttons and Mal wasn't happy about it.

"I wasn't planning to dress up, Captain."

"Well…good." I rolled my eyes.

"Is there anything else?"

"Did you stick your tongue out at me?"

"Do I look like I would?" I glared at him.

"Never mind. That's all I needed." He left.

"You mean besides the lobotomy?" I muttered under my breath.

I really didn't want to go, but the Captain told me to and I had no doubt that he would drag me kicking and screaming if I even thought about telling him no, so later that night I found myself staring at the contents of my suitcase looking for something to wear.

"Still can't find anything to wear?" I would have jumped if I hadn't already gotten used to my sister's way of sneaking up on people.

"No, River, I'm just going in what I'm wearing."

"Like a girl on her first date." I rolled my eyes, if rolling eyes were a sport I would be world famous.

"1. I'm not a girl. 2. it's not a date…" I paused and looked at River. "Is it? No, it can't be, the rest of the crew will be there. Mal may not have dated in several years, but I highly doubt it's been long enough for him to forget that one doesn't bring one's crew on a date." River rolled her eyes at the way her brother answered his own questions and still managed to get the answer wrong.

"Here, wear this." River said picking out some clothes and laying them out on the bed.

"Are you sure?" I said looking skeptically at the articles of clothing. River glared at me with her 'you are a boob' look. I sighed. One more month of living on Serenity and I'd have the lungs of an opera singer.

"Okay."

It was later that night and Mal was beginning to lose patience.

"We're going to be late!" He hollered.

The rest of the crew trudged down the stairs.

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming." I muttered walking down the steps.

"Simon?" Kaylee was staring at me, her mouth open slightly.

"Something wrong?" I looked at what I was wearing. River had picked out clothes I hadn't worn since I was an intern. It was a simple pair of dark wash jeans, a white t-shirt with red spirals on it and a form fitting leather jacket a friend had given me.

"Am I dressed wrong? River picked it out." I was beginning to feel very self-conscious. At this point the entire crew was staring at me.

"No. You're dressed just fine." Mal was staring at me, well, it wasn't just staring, it was different from a stare more like a gaze. My stomach flipped flopped. Oh shit.

"You mentioned that we have to leave or we're going to be late?" I said and everyone scrambled out the bay door except Mal, he stayed where he was holding open the door. Hesitantly I walked through it, letting out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I felt Mal walk behind me and close the distance as I tried to move farther away.

"You're walking awful fast there, Doc, something wrong?" Flip.

"No." Flop.

Double shit. I knew that feeling and the last time it happened I spent four months nursing a broken heart. I had fallen for Max, the head nurse, gone out with him for about a year, only to find out that he was cheating on me with, Greg, a doctor from oncology. After several awkward moments in the hall, him spreading nasty rumors around the hospital about me, and then a homicidal receptionist made an attempt on Max's life. The dean of medicine moved the Max to a new hospital for twice the pay and a corner office. I hadn't wanted to fall ever again, but now I had fallen for the Captain, who might I add, hated my guts and thought that constantly humiliating me was fun. Fan-fucking-tastic.

We reached the bar in reasonable time and found good vantage points, everyone decided that splitting up for a while before the meet would be a good idea, plus when you live on a tiny ship with people like Jayne you jump at any chance to get away from them. I really wish I could go get drunk but Mal will most likely do something stupid and need medical attention, I sighed and order a beer. I couldn't get drunk, but that didn't mean I couldn't drink a little.

A little later.

I noticed several men walk in the bar, but ignored them for the barmaid who had been flirting with me for the last thirty minutes. She was cute, but she was no Malcolm Reynolds and I'm going to stop that train before it reaches territory I don't want to venture into. She had informed me that she would be off work in about twenty minutes several times.

"They're cute." Ah, and now she was trying the jealousy approach. I turned and gave them a once over. They were two separate crews, mostly male with a few of what looked like females, although it was hard to tell.

"Hm… maybe the Captains." They were big burly men, they were the best looking of the crew and by rim standards they were very attractive. The girl's, Wren according to the name tag, eyes went wide.

"I'm sorry I didn't know you were…"

"Bi?" She relaxed a little.

"I'm tired of beating around the bush, are you interested or not?" I smiled and glanced at the booth where the rest of the crew had gathered.

"Ah, you're sweet on someone in your crew." I nodded.

"Girl or guy?"

"Guy."

"Ugly shirt, burly ape, or brown and suspenders, and if it's the shepherd, you might want to go ahead and give up."

"Brown." She turned and looked at Mal.

"Nice."

"I know."

"Nice shoulders, nice hands, nice legs and a really nice a-"

"Trust me, I know."

"Is he?"

"No." Wren winced.

"So, no feelings returned?"

"Nope." I sipped my beer and notice that it was empty; Wren placed a new one in front of me. I reached for my wallet to pay, but she shook her head.

"This one's on the house, it's the best cure for a broken heart." I took a sip and pulled a face.

"Ugh. Now I know why it's free." The drink tasted like cotton candy, sugar and Pepto-Bismol.

"Yeah, but you can't focus on a broken heart while drinking that."

"No, but I'm pretty sure that it can give you real heart damage just by smelling it." Wren laughed and I found myself joining in.

"SIMON!" I heard Mal bellow across the room.

"Yep, he's a real charmer that one." Wren said in a dry voice. I smiled.

"The Captain beckons."

"The Captain, huh? Setting your sights pretty high there."

"I'll manage."

"He looks like the jealous type to me." She said looking him over one last time.

"Really?" I thought for a second and then smiled, leaned forward and brushed my lips against Wren's.

"You know, girls don't like to be used and I usually hit men for it." She said when I pulled away.

"You didn't like it?" She blushed.

"I think I'll make an exception for you." She glanced behind me. "It worked." I slid off the barstool and made my way over to the booth.

"Hey Si!" I turned to look at her as she threw a napkin at me. "Just in case it doesn't work out." Catching it I smiled and slipping the paper in to my pocket, went over to where the crew was sitting.

"You screeched?" I said to Mal, who like the rest of the crew was staring at me wide eyed.

"Who was that?" Mal asked eyeing me suspiciously.

"No one important, what did you want?" I asked sliding in next to Kaylee and across from Mal. But of course Mal has to know everything.

"Who was that and why were you kissing her?"

"Her name is Wren, she's a barmaid, and the kiss was a thank you. Why the heck do you care it's none of your business and why was it you found the need to bellow for me?"

"One, you're on my crew so it's always my business and two, we have a problem."

"You never ask for the names of Jayne's whores and so what's the problem?"

"The problem is that you shouldn't be kissing-"

"I meant, what was the problem that caused you to yell for me?" I rolled my eyes.

"We have competition." Zoe said ignoring the seething Captain and nodding at the two crews I had noticed earlier.

"So?"

"It's the Norom's and the Toidi's, they're very well known for getting the job done. Plus, they have bigger ships, crews and guns." (I ran out of names ideas for the other crews. Read the names backwards)

"So basically, we're screwed?"

"Yeah."

"So we're going home?" Kaylee said rather glumly.

"Might as well. We have another job offer, it's not very good but it'll keep us flying."

"Do they get along?" I asked, a plan forming in my head.

"Huh?"

"The two captains, do they get along?" Zoe shook her head.

"No, they're cousins and from what I hear they hate each other. If one has something, the other wants it." I smiled. That was exactly what I wanted to hear.

"I can get rid of them if you want." Mal and the crew stared at me, I was beginning to wonder of they were part owl.

"Yeah, right, like a lily white pansy could win a bar fight against two of the toughest crews this side of the 'verse. And don't think we're going to help you."

I glared at him.

"I would only ask for your help if I wanted to get killed. I'll bet you my cut from this heist that I can get them to leave."

"I'll take that bet." Jayne said smirking.

"Just watch." I stood up and adding a little more sway to my walk. I kept one eye on the two captains as I slid on to the barstool.

"Back so soon?" Wren asked arching an eyebrow.

"I'm on a mission from the Captain."

"Oh?"

"Yep, remember those two captains over there?"

"Yeah."

"I'm going to get them to leave in…" I checked my watch. "30 minutes or less."

"Yeah right, if you can get them to leave in 30 minutes, you and your crew's drinks for the rest of the night will be on the house." I smiled, two bets in less than three minutes and I planned on winning both of them.

"Okay, I'll make sure it's a real good show." I winked at her.

"So what's the plan?"

"You'll see, but for it to work, you need to leave." She arched and eyebrow and turned to help another drunk call his ship to get someone to pick him up. I waited as I felt the eyes of my crewmates stare holes into my back and then a new pair of eyes landed on me. I turned to see which of them it was. It was the Norom's captain. I exaggeratedly looked him up and down, snorted and looked at the Toidi's captain with a slightly more praiseful look. I turned back to the bar and signaled Wren for a drink.

"Scotch on the rocks, please."

"Make it two and put it on my tab." I turned to see the captain of the Norom sliding onto the barstool next to me like a slug. He was big and muscular to the point of being comical. His eyes were a sickly greenish color instead of an endless sky blue, his mouth was like that of a bass, large and fat lipped instead of thin with a tongue sharp as a tack, his hair a mud brown and lacked hints of gold, and his clothes were like Badger's, meant to impress, instead of being practical. The other captain wasn't much better, he was younger, maybe mid-twenties and smaller than his cousin, his hair was too yellow and gaudy, his eyes were a brown that lacked luster, and like the Norom's captain, his clothes were made to impress. I gave a mental sigh, time to start the show.

"Thank you, but I don't accept drinks from strangers." He smiled showing what to everyone else would look like nice teeth, but to a doctor looked like a mouth STD. I tried to smile but only managed a grimace. Luckily, he didn't seem to notice.

"Well, then let's fix that," He held out his hand and I was positive that I would get rabies from thinking about touching it. "Name's Joe."

I shook his hand and resisted the urge to find a pot and boil my hand in disinfectant.

"Jack." Never give your real name.

"Well, Jack…" He said in what he probably thought was a sexy voice. "Will you accept my drink now or do we need to get to know each other a little better first?" Reaching out, I took the drink Wren offered, I looked at her, glanced at the drink and looked at her. She shook her head and I nodded. Never ever drink a drink a stranger buys because they have a nasty habit of putting things in them. I raised the glass in a toast, pressed it to my lips and breathed in deep. After several wild parties where I was the designated driver I learned what every tainted drink smelled like, this one had a small strain of the goodnight kiss. Not enough to put you to sleep but enough to make you feel woozy. I pretended to drink giving him a wink.

"So you're a captain?" I said leaning forward slightly and trying not to notice the scent of eau de garbage.

"Yeah, the ship does the job and the crew is a bunch of lazy bums, but we get the job done." I hated this man's guts, he was the exact opposite of Mal. Mal never had a mean word to say about his crew and would rather cut off his own hand than say anything bad about Serenity.

"So what are you?"

"I'm a medic."

"Really." He gave me a once over. "You look too pretty to be up to your elbows in guts. Don't take this the wrong way, but I wouldn't want you working on me as my medic." I took it the wrong way.

"Any other way though I don't think I'd mind." Twice over. Do. Not. Kill. Him.

"So what's a babe like you doing in a place like this by yourself? Lookin' for work?" he leered at me. I smiled at him coyly instead of going with my instincts and seeing if his rectum could withstand having my boot shoved up it.

"The truth is I was sent here by my captain to trick you into leaving so we can steal a job right out from under your nose." He laughed at what he thought was a joke and I laughed at his stupidity.

"Oh, really, and what ship is it that you serve on?" He said keeping what he thought was a joke going. I pretended to think about it.

"Serenity." He snorted and started guffawing.

"If you are going to joke about being on a ship, pick a different ship."

"Why? I like the name Serenity."

"Because the name's already been taken by a rundown shitty junk heap captained by a psychotic, worthless independence war throw back, who's got his head so far up his ass he shits through his mouth." I tried not to gag from both the mental image and his breath, resisting the urge to find something larger to shove up his ass since at this point my boot wasn't going to cut it.

I glanced at the time. This was taking too long; I had already wasted eight minutes on this sorry excuse for a human. I poured my drink on his lap by 'accident' to speed things up, plus it made me feel a little better.

"I'm sooo sorry!" I said acting like I was a little tipsy. Grabbing napkins from the counter top I began patting him down trying not to think about the fact that I was touching him let alone where.

"How about you go clean up and when you're done I'll make it up to you." You know you don't think someone of that size could move that fast, but the second the words were out of my mouth he made a beeline for the bathroom.

"Hi." I turned to see the Toidi's captain sitting where his cousin had been only moments before. "My name's Todd." Well, at least he was a little cleaner. And I mean only a little.

"Jack, pleasure to meet you." Not.

"I see you were flirting with my cousin."

"Joe's your cousin?" I said, trying to sound like one of the airheaded girls that my father had made me dance with at one of his parties.

"Yeah, and I need to warn you that he's not a nice person."

"Really?" I said trying to sound surprised, widening my eyes.

"Oh yes, for one thing he is a con artist and will steal all your money the second you turn your back." Cue fake gasp of horror. "And I can promise you that he's spiked your drink." Cue second fake gasp of horror. "And last but not least, he's married." I gasped in horror and this time I wasn't faking. That poor woman!

"Oh, thank you for telling me! You're such a nice man! How can I ever repay you?" Gag me.

"Well, I think a kiss would suffice." Huh? Did he just ask for a-? No, he didn't ask he took. Because the next thing I know his mouth is on mine and I'm fighting the rising bile.

*SLAM*

Next thing I know after that Todd is sent sailing across the room and Joe is standing there looking very pissed off.

"Every time I have something you weasel your way in and try to take it!" At this point the rest of the screaming captains' crews were on their feet, hands resting on potential weapons.

"You have no right to put your slimy paws anywhere near that man!"

"Oh, and you do?"

"Yeah, well, you're married!"

"So are you!"

"Your mother is a *BEEEEEEEEEP*"

"Don't say things like that about your aunt!" scolded one of the crew members, who I assumed was the first mate and one of the alleged females of the crew.

"That's it, you're dead!" And within seconds a full-fledged bar fight broke out, while I sat back and ordered a new drink. Wren walked up with a new drink and a small vial and handed me both. I raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you might want some mouthwash." I smiled and after using the mouthwash, I sat back to sip my drink and watch my masterpiece complete itself. Let's see, the fight was reaching the peak and right on cue the bartender came out of the back waving his shotgun.

"I want you out! Get out of my bar!"

"But!" Todd and Joe blubbered. "It's his fault!" they said pointing their fingers at me. Yep, true blue gentlemen.

"What happened?" The bartender said rounding on me. Well, time to wrap up this show.

"I don't know." I sobbed breaking down in tears. "One second I was just having a drink after work, I'm a surgeon so I sometimes have a drink to help me relax. Then he," I motioned at Joe. "Came over, bought me a drink and we flirted a little and then I started feeling a little woozy, which is weird since I only had one drink. Then I spilled my drink on him and he went to clean up and then Todd came over and told me that Joe was a bad man and then Todd tried to force himself on me. Joe pulled him off and they started yelling and then… everyone started fighting." I sniffled. The bartender laid a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"What did you mean when you said you felt woozy?"

"I felt strange. I usually have very stable hands being a doctor and all, but I couldn't hold onto my glass and my hands were shaking." The bartender furrowed his brow, grabbed the drink that Joe had bought for me, took a swig and promptly spat it out.

"This drink is spiked!" he roared. "So not only are you two trying to destroy my bar but get my license revoked as well? And blaming all this on this poor boy! Get them out of my bar!" A couple of what looked like part bouncer part giants dragged the crews out of here. The bartender turned to face me.

"I'm so sorry about that, sir. I know the sheriff, he's married to my sister, and I'll see to it that they spend the night in a jail cell."

"Thank you, but I don't want to be any trouble." I said giving him a watery smile.

"No trouble at all. I'm going home now, but I'll tell the next shift to be on the lookout for trouble."

"Thank you for all your kindness. If you ever need a doctor, please give me a call." The bartender nodded and, placing his apron on the counter, walked back into the kitchen and out the back door.

"Impressive." Wren said. "Exactly 18 minutes."

"And?"

"And the rest of you and your crew's drinks are on the house."

"Oh, you remember burly ape?" She nodded. "You can charge him." She laughed.

"Well, this is the end of my shift but if you ever change your mind give me a call." She turned and, like the bartender, left out the back door. I turned back to the table where my crew was sitting to the sound of clapping. River sat there laughing herself silly and clapping, I gave a mock bow and sat down.

"I win." I said quite happily to Jayne. He grumbled and handed me an I.O.U which I in turn handed to Mal. He gave me a look that was both praiseful and disapproving.

"Well, Doc, seems like I need to take you on runs more often."

"How did you do that?" Kaylee asked stunned.

"I've started a few before and you pick up a few tricks here and there."

"A few?" River said incredulously. "Simon you used to start bar fights all the time just because you were bored!"

"Really?" Mal said arching his eyebrow. I blushed.

"Well, not that many, maybe a couple dozen."

"Maybe a couple dozen?" Wash said and gave me an almost worshipful look. "You have got to teach me."

"No, honey." Zoe said wrapping an arm around her husband.

"But lambytoes!" Wash gave his wife puppy eyes.

"I have to agree with Zoe here, Wash. Starting bar fight is a very messy business, one wrong move and you're the one getting pummeled instead of the other guy." I said as my sister slowly stopped laughing, she was down to the occasional giggle.

"I'll get us some drinks." I stood and walked over to the bar, got the drinks and was headed back when I thought I heard a voice saying my name. I glanced around but saw no one. I was about to sit when a voice from the past stopped me.

"Simon?" I looked over my shoulder and standing not four feet away was Max.

"Max." He was wearing his usual clothes, silk shirt, pressed slacks, name brand shoes and a really ugly tie. I had always thought that the next time I saw him that the feelings we had would come back to stab me in the heart or that I would punch him for what he did to me, but I felt nothing. I did nothing. I just stood there and watched as a piece of my past stared back.

"I thought it was you! What have you been up to?" Well, apparently he hadn't seen the headlines lately.

"Nothing much, I'm working as a medic on a transport ship at the moment." He snorted.

"What?"

"It just figures that you would."

"And why is that?"

"Well, you're not that great a doctor, I mean you got everything you wanted by either your father's money or by batting your eyes at the dean." I remember he said the same thing one night when he accused me of sleeping with the dean when I got a promotion that was supposed to go to another doctor till the dean found out about the doctor's drinking problem.

"I worked hard to get to where I'm at now, Max." He smiled that smile I used to find charming.

"You're sort of making my point here, Simon." He said looking at my crew with distaste and I heard a growl coming from Zoe. I wanted to hit him how dare he insult my family! But one bar fight was enough for one night.

"Well," He rubbed a hand on the back his neck. "I was wondering if you wanted to give us another chance." I gawked at him. What. The. Hell? I heard a gasp from one of the crew members.

"You cheated on me, called me a whore to my face, spread lies about me all over the hospital, now you walk right back into my life and have the nerve to ask for me back?" He shrugged.

"Well yeah, I mean I thought it would be easier to ask for you back than waiting for you to find the balls to ask me back." I stared at him and wondered why the hell I had ever thought he was attractive! And as for going out with him? I'd rather kiss Jayne's hairy ass then ever go out on another date with him!

"What in the world made you think I would ever want another chance with you?" I snarled as my Hippocratic Oath became less and less binding.

"Well, let's face it, it's not like you could do better. I mean, come on Simon, I'm giving you another chance at being with me. The question isn't why would you, it's why wouldn't you?" Of course it would take the rest of my life to tell him every reason why I wouldn't. I was about to retort when a hand slipped around my waist.

"Is this man bothering you sweetheart?" I froze. Wha-?

"And who are you?" Max said wide eyed. I turned my head to look at Mal.

"I'm Captain Malcolm Reynolds and I want to know why you're currently bothering my medic." Mal put an emphasis on 'my'.

"I-I'm Max. Simon and I used to date and I was asking if he wanted another chance," Mal glared at him. "At what we had?" Max was quickly deflating.

"Well, then it seems we have a problem, you see the Doc's not available."

"He isn't?"

"No, you see he's my private physician and I don't like to share, if you know what I mean." I blushed as Mal pulled me flush against him. Max seemed to regain his gusto.

"Simon, I'm disappointed, your taste seems to be slipping. I mean I guess after me any old thing will do to stop the pain over what you lost." He put emphasis on 'old' and I felt Mal tense. "But I guess you'll throw yourself at anything won't you? You little slu-"

*WHAM*

I saw Max hit the floor and Mal standing over him.

"Don't you dare talk to him." Mal snarled. "You have no right to even look at him." Mal reached down, dragged Max to the door and threw him out of the bar.

"How dare you?" Max screamed from his spot on the ground.

"Boy, you're lucky to be alive at the moment, the only reason that you're still breathing is that even after all the shit you've pulled it would still upset Simon if I popped a bullet in your ass." Mal rested a hand on his gun. "Although I'm certain it wouldn't bother him too much." Max, showing brains for the first time in his life, ran.

Mal turned, and muttering under his breath what exactly he thought of Max, stalked back to the table.

"Mal?" He turned to me and arched an eyebrow. I couldn't look him in the eye.

"Thank you." I said my eyes closely examining a speck of filth on my shoes.

"That's it?" I looked at him confused and a little uneasy from the look on his face, like a cat that is finally going to stop playing with the canary and kill it. "'Course, it seems to me I'm getting shorted." His eyes held a hint of playfulness and under that a look that wasn't playful at all.

"Oh?" I squeaked out as Mal took a step towards me rapidly closing the distance.

"Well, you gave the boy at the bar a kiss for telling you about a bad man, I wonder what I'll get for saving you from one?" I gulped as the rest of the space between us vanished.

"I don't like being cheated out of what's owed me, or maybe I should just take what's mine?"

"I-I…" I couldn't get the words to form in my head let alone fall from my mouth. I tried to step back, but found myself in a vice I didn't want to break out of.

"Well, Doc?" I looked him in the eyes.

"Well, I guess it would be rude to short you after you did such a nice job." I leaned up and gently brushed my lips against his, but that apparently wasn't enough payment, as I felt his hand roam my back and his tongue caress mine. Finally he pulled away and the wolf whistles and catcalls hit my ears. I blushed and felt Mal's lips brush against my ear.

"You know, you have really bad taste in boyfriends." I stiffed at his words and a particularly loud wolf whistle that came to everyone else's surprise from my sister, the little brat. Mal noticed my discomfort.

"You know we can blame this on the booze, right?" Mal said and once again I saw that look in his eyes that meant he was going to give up something he wanted for someone else's well-being. I looked him square in the eye.

"I know." He began to put up the wall behind his eyes. "But I don't want to." And with that I leaned forward and kissed him.

"I told you it was a date."

River, you little brat.


	8. Chapter 8

(I own nothing.)

IMPORTANT! I wrote this story while listening to 'Austin' by Blake Shelton. This story is based on the song with a few twists and turns of my own thrown in. I own nothing!

'**Austin' by Blake Shelton.**

**She left without leavin' a number  
Said she needed to clear her mind  
He figured she'd gone back to Austin  
'Cause she talked about it all the time  
It was almost a year before she called him up  
Three rings and an answering machine is what she got**

If you're callin' 'bout the car I sold it  
If this is Tuesday night I'm bowling  
If you've got somethin' to sell, you're wastin' your time, I'm not  
buyin'  
If it's anybody else, wait for the tone,  
You know what to do  
And P.S. if this is Austin, I still love you

The telephone fell to the counter  
She heard but she couldn't believe  
What kind of man would hang on that long  
What kind of love that must be  
She waited three days, and then she tried again  
She didn't know what she'd say,  
But she heard three rings and then

If it's Friday night I'm at the ballgame  
And first thing Saturday, if it don't rain  
I'm headed out to the lake  
And I'll be gone, all weekend long  
But I'll call you back when I get home  
On Sunday afternoon  
And P.S. If this is Austin, I still love you

Well, this time she left her number  
But not another word  
Then she waited by the phone on Sunday evenin'  
And this is what he heard

If you're callin' 'bout my heart  
It's still yours  
I should've listened to it a little more  
Then it wouldn't have taken me so long to know where I belong  
And by the way, boy, this is no machine you're talkin' to  
Can't you tell, this is Austin, and I still love you

I still love you

(Now on to the story!)

I walked towards the bar where Mal and the crew were celebrating their latest heist. I needed an answer. Mal and I had been dancing closer and closer. There would be a slight touch at the dinner table or a warm look when I finished fixing the crew but a few nights ago the dancing stopped and we finally met. And now I needed to know if it was…if it was what? Was it a one night stand? Or did it actually mean something? These questions raced through my head as I walked in to the bar. When I was working on paper work the morning after I could have sworn he said 'I love you.' when he came in to tell me we were about to land.

I spotted Mal, I also saw the women trying to suck out his tonsils. I turned and left a single tear the only thing that marked I had been there.

What had I been thinking? That what happened had actually meant something?

I kept walking as both Serenity and the bar shrank from view. I must have walked in to an Inn and order a room, because I woke up on a bed facing a window. Rain was pouring down outside. I felt River walk into the room; she walked so as to not disturb me although she knew I was awake.

"I got our things. They left but they'll find out we're gone soon enough. And I left a note saying we needed to clear our minds." I heard her set something on the night stand as the smell of coffee wafted under my nose.

"I got us breakfast." She sighed. "I'm going to go take a shower." I heard the bathroom door open and she paused. "She kissed him." And then the bathroom door closed.

"I know River."

Mal sat looking at the note in his hand. They had come back to the ship after a few at a local bar and after breaking atmo, found the Doc and River gone. After searching the ship he found the note on Simon's bunk. It only had one word on it.

'Goodbye.'

Mal crumpled the note in his hand and threw it a cross the room. Mal thought back to the morning when he woke up to find his arms wrapped around a very swai Doc. What happened?

Mal reached for the ship phone and began to update the answering machine and then when he was about to hang up he paused.

"P.S…"

And that was the last we spoke of it. It had been almost a year before we spoke of it again. I was sitting on a stool eating dinner when River came in to the kitchen of our one room apartment she had a look of determination on her face.

"You still haven't figured it out?" I looked up from my bowl of protein. "She kissed him!"

"I know, River, I saw them." I muttered looking back down at my bowl, my way of changing the subject. It didn't work.

"She kissed him!"

"Yes, River, I know! I saw them kiss, okay?" I snapped, glaring at her. She sighed and the enunciated very slowly

"No, she kissed him." Then it hit me the way she worded it. It was like the word puzzles I used to do at breakfast, one phrase two or more meanings.

"She kissed him?" She nodded. "He didn't kiss her." She nodded.

"For the top three percent you can be such a boob."

"Brat." I smiled.

"I don't think I'm the one you need to be talking to right now." She looked pointedly at my cell phone and then danced out of the apartment, probably off to scare large thugs.

I picked it up and stared at it. Could I really do this? We had been gone so long. Would he even want to hear from me?

Sucking in a breath I dialed and waited as I listened to three rings. And then I heard the answering machine pick up and Mal's voice came on the line.

**If you're callin' 'bout the mule I sold it  
If this is Tuesday night I'm brawling  
If you've got somethin' to sell, you're wastin' your time, I'm not  
buyin'  
If it's anybody else, wait for the tone,  
You know what to do  
And P.S. if this is Simon, I still love you.**

I dropped the phone as if it had bitten me. It lay there on the counter as my mind whirled.

He still wanted me? He loved me? How? I left, I didn't call, I didn't write and yet he still loved me? I walked over to the couch and sat down. What do I do now?

It was three days later that I figured it out. I would call and if it still said that thing then I would leave a message…maybe. Picking up the phone I dialed and waited.

**If it's Friday night I'm at the bon fire  
And first thing Saturday, if it don't rain  
I'm headed out on a heist  
And I'll be gone, all weekend long  
But I'll call you back when I get home  
On Sunday afternoon  
And P.S. If this is Simon, I still love you**

I left my number and was just hanging up when River ran in.

"We need to leave the Alliance is getting too close. I already booked us a room at an inn on Icon 3, and a flight on a cargo ship." I nodded grabbed my bag and ran out with River on my heels.

Mal walked back on to Serenity two days later, the heist had gone well and nothing could make this day better. Walking in to the cockpit he noticed the message light was blinking.

"Huh." Mal hit the play button.

"You have one new message. New message, *BEEP* "770-555-5678." *BEEP* End of message. You have no more messages. *CLICK*

"Must be a new job offer." Mal picked up the phone and dialed.

*Click* Mal froze as he listened to the message.

**If you're callin' 'bout my heart**

**It's still yours. **It can't be**  
I should've listened to it a little more.** That voice…**  
Then it wouldn't have taken me so long to know where I belong.  
And by the way, Mal, this is no machine you're talkin' to  
Can't you tell, this is Simon, and I still love you**

Mal took the phone away from his ear and stared at it. There way no way.

"Mal?"

Mal said nothing.

"I see your wearing that shirt I gave you."

Mal looked up.

"Simon."

(The End!)

(Just kidding! Don't Kill Me!)

I hate flying on large ships where there are thirty other people who think you care that they are going to see there grand kids who are six, eight, two and a half and one more to be born by C-section on Monday. Or about the cheating husband who wasn't cheating with who the wife thought he was cheating with and now was going to jail for two weeks for setting the not-the-other-woman's hair on fire.

I was very glad to see land and breathe air with out the smell of baby powder, unwashed body's and way too much cologne someone had sprayed to cover up the other smells.

I stumbled in to our room, dropped my bags and flopped on the bed only to jump to my feet, away from the two hundred newly disturbed cockroaches.

"Yick, River!" She waltzed in to the room and proceeded to do and Irish jig on the cockroaches, killing most of them and sending the others in to hiding. "River, why did you book this room in this Inn, when there are three other Inns with much nicer rooms then this for the same price?"

"I needed it for a very special reason okay?" I rolled my eyes and walked out heading for the roof in search of cell signal. Reaching the roof I felt my phone vibrate. I checked the number, yep it was him.

I flipped it open and said it before my will power decided to swan dive off the roof.

"If you're callin' 'bout my heart

It's still yours.  
I should've listened to it a little more.  
Then it wouldn't have taken me so long to know where I belong.  
And by the way, Mal, this is no machine you're talkin' to  
Can't you tell, this is Simon, and I still love you."

There was silence; I really wished I could see his face right now so I could see what he wasn't saying. I jumped as the roof door crashed open and I turned to see River. I made a shooing motion and she rolled her eyes, pointed at something behind me and then left, letting the door clang shut behind her. I turned to look at where she had been pointing and froze. I directly a cross from us was Serenity and the roof was at the same height as the cockpit and standing in it was…

"Mal?" He didn't say anything. I tried to cut the tension.

"I see your wearing the shirt I gave you." I had given it to him on his birthday, he wouldn't tell us how old he was but we all took turns guessing, then River read his mind and told us he was 29, and then he yelled at us to get back to work.

He looked up and straight in to my eyes.

"Simon."

And then he turned and walked out of the room. I turned and ran and just as it had on that day nearly a year ago it began to rain. I raced down the two flights of steps and stopped looking through the crowd of people running for cover to see Mal. He was standing about half way down the ramp getting soaked.

I didn't know what to do. Do I run to him or from him? If I run to him will this end like one of Rivers really bad romance flicks or will it end with him beating me to a pulp?

In the end the crowd of people trying not to melt made the decision for me, the crowd of hydrophobic maniacs thinned enough for him to spot me. He started too walked towards me and like a magnet was pulling me I walked towards him.

He was only three steps away.

Two steps.

One.

Here goes nothing. I closed my eyes. And then his arms were around me, my feet left the ground and his lips were busy warming up mine. Finally he let me breath and I smiled at him wiping the water off of his face.

"I'm back."


	9. Chapter 9

(I own nothing!)

I had stood at the entrance to Serenity and watched as my sister walked down the ramp her bag in hand. I hadn't even had to tell her to pack.

I was thinking about the night before when Mal had told me that I wasn't allowed off the ship without an escort. When I asked why he merely told me that he didn't much care for the local hill people taking other people's property especially when that property was his. And then he pulled a typical Malcolm Reynolds' exit. River walked to me and gave a smile.

"You already knew, didn't you?" She nodded.

"Warned them not to get too close, Smoke is here and gone as it pleases."

"You have all your stuff?"

"Yep." Picking up her bag as well as mine, I walked away from Serenity.

"They'll worry."

"I doubt that, River, I told them we might have to leave without so much as goodbye."

"And we are but Mal is like a fire…"

"Okay, I'll bite, what are you trying to tell me?"

"Where there is Fire there is Smoke." She smiled as I looked over my shoulder at the ship that had been our home for several months, and just like that we were gone from it.

That had been exactly a year ago to the day and we were on the same planet. Walking over to a vendor, I picked up a mango, sniffed it and after a thorough investigation decided it was worth what the vendor was asking, slipped it in my pocket and left. I finished my daily thievery and headed off to a bar.

I had been starting clinics, training doctors and pulling strings since we left the crew. I had friends on every planet and connections everywhere, but we always had to keep moving. And so far the only thing that had gone seriously wrong was when a very wealthy business man and his playboy son came to visit a town on Holloe that River and I were starting a clinic in. I had kept River far away from him after hearing all the horror stories only to figure out that he had no interest in River. I, on the other hand, was a different matter. It ended up going like this, he asked me out I said no, he asked me out again I said no, it went on like this for about a week and then he asked me to marry him I said hell no, he apparently doesn't take no for an answer, so I ran and he has now set a price of 2 million credits to whoever brings me back to him. It has been an ongoing war of who has the highest price on our heads and at the moment the Alliance is losing.

"You Simon Tam?" I froze and turn around to see two men standing behind me. One was a big meat sack with legs and the other was a small, skinny, rat-looking man.

"Who wants to know?" The smaller one smiled as the big foot impersonator aimed his gun in my direction.

"Oh, you're him alright and it don't matter who we are, it matter who you is. And so, Dr. Tam, you need to come with us." I assumed that he was supposed to be the brains of the duo, and wondered how stupid the other one had to be to follow rat face here. I think Jayne has got some competition for his spot as the stupidest person I know. (A/N No offence to Jayne fans!)

"Oh, and just what makes you think I'm this Simon Tam fellow?" This caused the two to stop.

"You look like him and you sound like a high class, lily white, core pansy." I cringed at Jayne's favorite nickname for me.

"So? That's your big excuse for bothering me? You think you can look at a very crappy drawing," I said motioning to the wanted poster in rat boy's hand. "Point a gun at me, insult me, and tell me that because I'm from the core you have the right to drag me off to lord knows where?" And Mal says I can't act. The behemoth put his gun back in its holster.

"Well…" He was at a loss for words. "We…uh…"

"Yes?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"Well you see…uh...-" He didn't get any further because just then my comm. link crackled to life and River's voice came on.

"Simon Tam, what the hell is taking you so long?" Shit.

"Oops." I said and took off, knocking over vendors' stands and startling angry vendors. I ran down a back alley narrowly avoiding being shot.

"Don't shot him, you great baboon! We need him alive!" At least I know he won't be shooting at me, that will make thing easier.

"Aim for the legs!" Okay, I take that back; well, that just makes things more interesting.

I ran back out into the market, toppling several baskets and then I ran straight into someone.

"Watch it!"

"Sorry!" I said running past them.

I stopped as the scent of the man finally hit me. It was gun powder, cinnamon and an undertone of hard whiskey, the same scent I had smelled every time he had walked by me on those cramped corridors. It can't be. I turned to see a pair of bright blue eyes staring at me. It was.

(I wasn't going to do a Mal POV but I couldn't help myself.) 

It had been one year since the Tams had left my ship, my crew and my life, without as much as a- what had the Doc called it? A by your exit? By your passing? Oh, never mind.

It had been one year since we had seen them, but we still saw them out of the corners of our eyes, in the shadows, hear their voices on the wind and so we had some incidents. We all got whiplash every time we heard their names and Kaylee had a very bad accident in which she thought she saw Simon, and so being Kaylee she ran up behind him and hugged him, I spent the next half hour apologizing to the terrified young lady and explaining that Kaylee was not trying to hurt her and that no, a restraining order wouldn't be necessary.

But for me it mainly meant one more day to go get blind drunk. The only day I hated more was Unification Day and even it had been given a run for its money after the 14 crying fits and I don't mean Kaylee, I swear I saw even Jayne get teary eyed when he wrecked the infirmary and no one was there to yell at him and clean it up. The hole they left had been getting bigger.

I had tried hiring a medic since we still needed one; it had been a luxury to just have to shout to get medical attention. It had been hard to find one that fit the bill, when I did Zoe and her gun literally chased him off the ship cursing and screaming. I guess she didn't like him.

We had landed on Tenalp this morning and had headed off to get supplies, Kaylee had gone with Inara to find girly things and the Shepherd had gone to preach at the church. We had been in the market no more than 5 minutes when some moron ran head first into me.

"Watch it!" I really wasn't in the best mood at the moment.

"Sorry!" I heard him mutter as he ran past and then it hit me. His voice. It was the same voice telling me what a stupid plan that had been and then the hands that went with it giving me a very painful injection when I inform him that I hadn't had a plan to begin with. I stopped and turned to get a better look when he turned and my eyes met with stormy grey.

(Okay back to Simon!)

I stared at him. What the heck was he doing here!

"Mal, what's wrong?" It was Zoe and Jayne. He ignored them and breathed one word.

"Doc."

"You bastard get back here!" That most definitely wasn't Mal's voice. I turned and ran as Rat Face and Meat Sack came into view. I heard feet thudding close behind me, too close, dumber and dumbest hadn't been that close. I looked behind me to see Mal in all his Browncoat glory running after me, Zoe and Jayne close behind having finally spotted me or just wondering if Mal had finally lost it. Could this day get any worse?

The answer to that question is yes. I was now running from both Mal and the moronic duo but the icing on the cake was when I heard a shout from both Mal and Rat Face.

""Who the heck are you?""

""Me? Who are you?""

"I'm the man that's going to bring him in for the reward."

"Well, then I'm the one who's going to stop you."

And I'm the one who's going to sneak off while you're distracted.

""Get back here."" Damn. I turned to face the two groups of pursuers. Mal and Rat were glaring at each other.

"He's my medic."

"And he's the fiancé to the son of the Duke of Holloe, who is most anxious to get him back." Rat snarled as Meat Sack moved in my direction. Mal looked at me and arched an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm afraid that he's just going to have to wait." Jayne also began moving in my direction, never taking his eyes off Meat Sack. They were pretty evenly matched in size. Zoe stood off to the side, hand on her gun.

"Well, it seems we've come to an impasse."

"Seems we have." Mal had that smile on his face that he gets when someone is going to get hurt namely by him. There would have been a shootout if I hadn't chosen that moment of testosterone-fueled glaring to hightail it out of there. I heard Zoe's gun go off, what sounded like Jayne using Meat Sack's head to break down a door and the unmistakable sound of Mal losing his patience. I winced. I had been on the receiving end of Mal's temper before and so said a little prayer for Rat Face. We had bonded over the 30 minutes he had been chasing me, him throwing curses and hard objects and me dodging, okay, so I wasn't too torn up over that relationship ending. I was almost to one of my hiding places when everything went dark.

"UMF?" Was all I could manage as a sheet was thrown over my head and my body left the ground as someone threw me over their shoulders.

"Got him!" It was Meat Sack. Shit.

*WHAM*

Something hit Meat Sack sending him to the ground; luckily he dropped me instead of landing on me. I could hear the sound of flesh meeting flesh and bone and cartilage giving way.

"I'll be taking that." Once again my body left the ground and I was flying through the air, if they kept this up they were going to be wearing my breakfast. I began to hit whoever was carrying me; they were carrying me over their shoulders and moving briskly. I brought my hand down hard and heard a surprised yelp.

"You know, Doc, I always knew you had a thing for me, but is now really the time to be grabbing my ass?"

Mal.

I growled in return.

"Put me down."

"Afraid I can't do that, Doc."

"Why the hell not?" I yelped as I felt Mal's hand on my butt holding me in place as he walked faster.

"Because you'll run."

"I won't run."

"I wonder how far I could throw you, probably no more than a foot or two."

"Probably." Where the hell was he going with this? Never mind, where the hell was he going with me?

"Well, then I trust you less than one or two feet. So, no, I won't put you down." Ass.

*CRACK*

Mal went down like a ton of bricks.

"I believe this is mine." Rat Face said happily. Rat wasn't strong enough to carry me and so began to drag me.

"Actually 'he's' not and so he will be coming with us now." That was Zoe.

*BANG* gun.

*CRASH* Jayne and Meaty just joined the fight. I tried to figure out what was happening while wiggling out of the sheet they had somehow tied shut.

*BAM*

*CLANG*

*BOOM*

"HELP!" I couldn't tell who it was, but it was high-pitched and girly. That couldn't have been Zoe…could it?

"Get back here, you little Rat Faced Piece of Shit!" No it wasn't, that voice was Zoe's and judging by what she was saying the first speaker was Rat.

*WHOOSH*

"Ouch!"

*CRASH*

*THWACK*

Yes! I can see light! It's almost!

"I don't think so!" Shit! A new sheet was thrown over my head as I was hoisted in to the air for the umpteenth time that day and slung over someone's shoulder.

"Let me go!" I screamed. I was carried for several minutes through what was most likely back alleys judging by the turns and the smells. I heard a door slam and what little light that came through the sheet went dark; the noises of a rowdy bar assaulted my ears before I was unceremoniously dropped on a poorly padded seat. I winced as the sheet was ripped off my head and my eyes became accustomed to the small amount of lighting that there was. I focused my eyes on the man in front of me, and slowly his face became less blurry. Across from me sat Mal. (the booth is a circular booth, just to let you know.)

"Long time no see, Doc." I tried to scoot out of the bench only to have my way blocked by Zoe and Jayne. Then I noticed that the so-called sheet had been Mal's coat. My mouth went dry.

"Yeah, a real long time." His eyes had haunted me every night and yet they still startled me with their power and depth. "Well it was nice seeing you but I have to go." I moved the other way to get out only to be blocked by Mal.

"What's your rush?" Mal said invading my personal space. I tried to back up but realized that if I did I'd end up in Jayne's lap.

"Well, I need to go pick up River."

"No need, I'm already here." I turned away from Mal to see my sister standing at the entrance to the booth, hands on her hips. "I got worried when you didn't call in but now I can see you were in good hands." Zoe and Jayne began to slide out of the booth and I smiled. It would be tight, but I would have just enough time to grab River and run before they knew what was happening.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." River says gleefully staring me in the eye. "He's like a fox, faster, slier and more cunning than you think." I winced at the hidden meaning; I glanced at Mal and got the distinct impression that he had caught it as well. Zoe glanced at me and sat back down; River chose to sit next to Mal forcing him to scoot in closer to me. Suddenly she grabbed his left hand. "No ring, good. Doesn't make the same mistake more than twice I see." Mal went red.

"Hello, Jayne." River said smiling and removing her coat so he could see the twin daggers she kept on hand at all times. Jayne gulped eyeing the knives.

"River, stop scaring Jayne." I said rolling my eyes.

"Aw, but Simon, I haven't gotten to in exactly a year!" River pouted, I gave her a reprimanding look and returned my attention to Mal. I jerked a little when I realized that he had moved closer when my attention was focused on River.

"W-Well we should be going." I muttered trying to put nonexistent space between Mal and me. "I need to be getting back to the clinic."

"But Simon, you finished all your work at the clinic last night, remember? We were looking for a transport ship to take us to a new planet this morning." River said with a shit-eating grin smeared across her face.

"Really now?" Mal said a sly smirk sliding slowly across his mouth.

"No, we're not." I snapped at Mal cutting off his underlying unasked question. "And we need to be leaving now." The smile fell from Mal's lips as he reached to pull out his comm. link.

"Kaylee?" He said into it as his eye lit up maliciously. "We need you at the Goe bar now, it's an emergency." He set his comm. on the table and waited for me to make my move. I growled at him, but his smile just grew at the sound. I shoved him hard trying to get him out of my personal space, but he barely budged an inch. I could feel the eyes of the crew glued to us.

"Get out of my way." I snarled.

"How long do you think you have before she gets here with the rest of the crew, a few minutes?" Mal said still refusing to move.

"Move."

"No, Doc." Mal leaned forward and hissed in my face, as I tried not to blush at how close he was to my face. I felt his breath brush against my face sending a chill through me.

"Captain, you called?" I let out a mental sigh of relief as I heard Kaylee, until I noticed that Mal wasn't moving. His eyes were studying mine, I didn't know why, they weren't particularly interesting, but he still studied them like an artist would his muse. Good lord, did Mal's eyes ever end? I felt myself falling into them, like I was drowning, tossed around on the currents of his thoughts and yet I couldn't bring myself to care. As I unconsciously began to lean toward him, his eyes were hypnotic bending me to their will which I gladly obeyed.

"Simon? River?" The spell was broken by Kaylee's screech of surprise and what was possibly happiness, her voice left the levels of sound that humans could hear before I could decide. River stood and hugged the girl who had been like a sister to her for all those months.

"Mal, are you going to let Simon out of the booth so I can get a hug?" Mal barely seemed to register Kaylee's words.

"Yeah, Mal, aren't you going to let me out?" I say never looking away from his searching eyes. His eyes grew to an impossible intensity.

"Uh…Am I interrupting something?"

"No. Come on Mal, let me out." I dared him. His mouth twitched like he had bitten into a lemon. He gave a growl only I could hear and slowly moved out of the bar. I moved to get out only to find myself being dragged out by my arm. Mal hauled me to my feet, his hand like a hand cuff which had lost its key on my arm. I hugged Kaylee, I had missed her, she was like a sister to me and like River I would do anything for her. I still felt sick at how I had almost let her die the day we met. As I pulled away I felt Mal's hand place itself back on my arm, and then I was forced back into my seat. The Shepherd, Wash and Inara were also there and took seats next to Zoe, Kaylee and River. (Just in case anyone is confused the order is: Mal, Simon, Jayne, Zoe, Wash, River, Kaylee, Inara and Book.)

"So Simon, when did you run into Mal.?" Kaylee asked stealing a sip from Jayne's mug, causing the big ape to growl irritably. River snickered, most likely already knowing how I 'ran' into them.

"Well, we literally ran into each other, well, the Doc ran into me."

"You should have been watching where you were going!"

"So should you!" Mal said slightly defensive.

"I was busy trying not to get shot!" I snarled at him.

"Someone was shooting at you?" Book asked sounding slightly alarmed.

"Why?" Kaylee asked concern written on her face.

"Yeah, Doc, what was that rat talking about when he said you're someone's fiancé? A lord was it?" Mal smiled knowing he had put me in an uncomfortable position. I glared at him.

"It was a duke and no, I'm not that little delusional brat's fiancé." Mal arched and eyebrow willing me to go on. Good lord does he practice that? I could see it now 'and lift and one and two and three, yep look at that eyebrow pop'. I chuckled at the mental image.

"I've been starting clinics on some of the outer planets that don't have any yet. One day while I was on Holloe a duke and his son came to visit."

_Flashback:_

"_River, give me back that scalpel!" I was running after my sister in our make shift healers tent when a noise from outside caught my attention. What the?_

_I poked my head out of the tent flap to get a better idea of what the heck was going on._

"_What's happening?" I asked a man running by, in such a rush that he was putting on his coat as he ran._

"_The Duke and his son are coming here for an evaluation of how the village is doing and whether or not to cut off our funding! Doc, come on out and meet them. Having you here will improve our chances of getting an increase in our funding!" Suddenly he stopped and looked at River. "But keep an eye on his son; he'll hit on anything that looks like a girl." I nodded my thanks for the warning. Turning to look at River I weighed my options. If I went out there, proving that they had a working doctor, they would definitely move up in the 'asset to the Alliance' scale and their funding would grow. But if I did go out there and the Duke recognized me, there would be trouble._

"_They won't notice. The Duke will be too busy and the last thing on the son's mind will be arrest warrants when he sees you." I looked at her in confusion and watched as a shadow fell over her face. "Not his to look at or to touch or to hold. Only Daddy is allowed to look at Mommy." I stared at her, like she had lost her mind. Oh, yeah, right._

"_Time to go." She said pushing me out the tent flap. I had only taken about two steps into the blinding sunlight before I heard rather than saw the horses stop in front of me._

"_You must be the doctor I've heard so much about." I looked up at the man as he dismounted. He was a little taller than me, with the biggest handle-bar mustache I had ever seen._

"_Alf Florence, Duke of Holloe." He offered his massive hand._

"_Matt Green, trauma surgeon, and this is my sister Rae." I said shaking his hand. "And this must be your son." I turned to look at the boy standing behind Alf. He was tall and well built, and his eyes were glued in my direction, then I remembered River was standing behind me. I moved so she was blocked from view and the boy's eyes moved with me._

"_Alex." He said giving River a once -over._

"_Wasn't looking at me." I heard River mutter behind me, I ignored her. _

_The day went as most of them did, except for when the Duke would drop in to ask questions about the town's well-being both financially and physically and surprisingly Alex would come in with him with one or more town girls on his arm and never the same ones either. I sighed and made a mental note to come back in about nine months to help with the half dozen or more bastard children about to be born._

"_You shouldn't toy with them." I was refilling my emergency needles and setting them in their proper places and Alex had graced me with his presence. He was currently snooping through my infirmary, misplacing and disrupting several objects._

"_I shouldn't do what?" He asked examining a fetal pig that one of my doctors in training had dissected._

"_You shouldn't toy with the girls in this town like this."_

"_Why not? They're the ones throwing themselves at me."_

"_They're trying to move up in the world and marrying a duke is a big step up from where they are now." I said filling another needle._

"_Then why aren't they throwing themselves at you? I mean, doctor is a step down from duke but as you said it's still a big step up." _

"_What makes you think they haven't? Anyway you're only what, eighteen? I'm older so you're a more logical choice because you're younger." I began to take inventory._

"_I'm twenty-three."_

"_Yeah, right." I scoffed the boy wasn't any older than twenty._

"_So you're telling me that you haven't so much as looked at one of those girls?" I nodded. "And they've been throwing themselves at you?" Again I nodded._

"_I have no interest in them in the least."_

"_No."_

"_You gay?" I didn't dignify that with an answer. The question would have surprised me if it weren't for the fact that six other people had asked me the same question in this town alone._

"_Ah." I finished the inventory and began to file and bind the folders for when we moved to the building the town men were building for a clinic._

"_So… dinner?"_

"_It's a meal typically eaten at the end of the day. What about it?" I heard him chuckle._

"_I meant, would you come to dinner with me?" I turned to look at him._

"_Does your Father need me for something?" He smiled._

"_No, but I do." I was confused._

"_What do you need?"_

"_A date." I stared at him._

"_What? Why would you need me for a date? Did you forget the fact that every girl here wants to date you, married or otherwise? So why would you need my help getting a date?" I said rolling my eyes._

"_You're a little ditzy for a doctor, you know that?" I gave him a glare. "Matt?"_

"_Yes?" Now we were on a first-name basis?_

"_Would you go out on a date with me?"_

"_No." I was still stunned by the question. He had been asking me out on a date? No wonder my sister called me clueless. He shrugged and turned to leave._

"_You'll change your mind, they always do." And with that he was gone and in popped River._

"_Understand what I meant now?" All I could do was nod._

_It went on like that for about a week. He would come in and ask for a date and I would decline with varying amounts of force, depending on how much he had annoyed me and the number of girls he paraded through, and every time he would tell me that I would change my mind and leave. One day he didn't come in and I thought he had finally given up._

"_The ride isn't over till you're back where you started." I looked at River._

"_What?" She rolled her eyes and I could swear I heard her mutter 'boob' under her breath._

"_The ride's not over, we're only at the beginning of a loop-the-loop, not at the beginning and the end. I can understand why you're anxious to get back; he may have been tricked into another marriage, not that it would take much tricking, before you get back, before he knows, before you can stop him. He's almost as big a boob as you are." I stared at her._

"_What the hell are you talking about?"_

"_Denial." And then she swept out her skirts billowing out behind her. "Don't make his mistake."_

"_Matt?" I turned to see Alex standing in the clinic doorway with several burly men standing next to him._

"_Yes, Alex?" He walked toward me till he was standing in front of me._

"_My father and I are leaving today." _

_HALLELUJAH! _

"_I'm so sorry to hear that." Don't jump for joy till he leaves. Don't do a happy dance till he leaves._

"_Well I have something very important to ask you."_

"_What can I do for you?" Before you get the hell out of my life?_

"_Marry me."_

"_Excuse me?" Did he just ask what I think he just asked? Oh no, he's getting down on one knee. I considered running and then remembered the four burly men standing in the doorway. Suddenly I had a good idea as to why they were here._

"_Will you, Matt Green, do me the honor of marrying me?"_

"_Oh hell no." His eyes went dark, he stood and suddenly I was struck by exactly how much bigger he was than me._

"_That's too bad. Boys." He snapped his fingers and the men snapped to attention. They began to advance on me slowly backing me into a corner. "Don't worry, you'll change your mind, they always do."_

_Oh shit._

_Luckily for me when they built this place they made a back door. I dove between two of the approaching goons and scrambling to my feet, scrambled to the door and flung it open. Racing outside, I ran around to the front of the building and headed to where I had last seen River. I heard a whistle. Wha?_

"_Simon!" I turned and saw River sitting proudly on the back of a black horse with a brown horse's reins in her hand. Running to her, I clambered up onto the brown horse as she tossed me the reins. We took off and I noticed that our bags were there as well._

"_You knew?" I hollered at her to be heard over the sound of thudding hooves. _

"_Yep!" She said and I could swear I heard her say what sounded like:_

"_We're going home."_

"And a few days after that the wanted posters began to pop up." I finished and took a sip of the drinks the Shepherd had bought us in celebration of our reunion.

"That's quite a story." Book said thoughtfully.

"But how did you run into the Captain?"

"Well…" I said pulling the mango, along with several other food items I had stolen, out of my pocket and began to peel it with my knife. "I had been out shopping in the market," I ignored Rivers snort. "And two men approached me believing I was Dr. Simon Tam." I said watching as, predictably, Kaylee snatched up the strawberries.

"But you are." Kaylee mumbled her mouth full of said fruit.

"Yes, but I managed to convince them I wasn't till my loving sister called and announced who I was to the whole world." River smiled at me with only a hint of remorse. "I ran, they gave chase, they shot at me, I knocked things in their way, you know the usual."

"Then he ran into me. Literally." Mal said cutting me off. "And then the little pain ran from us as well."

"I wasn't running from you, I was running from them! Need I remind you that the other men were still chasing me?" I lied.

"Uh huh." Mal says an 'I don't believe you even as far as I can throw you' and an annoyed knowing smile is on his face. "Then we ran into the two men that wanted to take our dear Doc here, we beat them to a pulp and the Doc here asked if we would have a drink with him."

"I asked you to have a drink with me? I'm sorry, I don't remember asking that particular question, was that before you threw a blanket over my head and kidnapped me or after? My mind must still be a little fuzzy from all the times you dropped me, carrying me here." I glared at him, he growled in return.

"Captain! You doctor-napped him?" Kaylee said looking at Mal disapprovingly. "Why didn't you do that when you first saw him instead of chasing him all over town and nearly losing him?" I gapped at her.

"Well you see, he's a fast little bugger." Mal said wrapping an arm around me and I was finding that I didn't mind. Wait, I should mind, so why didn't I? I needed to get out of there before it was too hard to leave. But I didn't want to, so why did I have to? Then the memories came back.

"_Kaylee's dead."_

"_Zoe, please stay with me!"_

"_Everyone's so angry."_

"_She'll most likely out-live all of us."_

"We have to go." I said looking River dead in the eye.

Wasn't you're fault.

I know.

Do you?

They're better off without us.

It they thought that, why did they come back for us when I was to be burned?

Sometimes you have to save them from a threat they can't see.

But you're protecting them from one that isn't there at all. You're not even protecting them! You're running! A Rabbit from a Fox.

"River, now." I said my voice a deadly whisper. I turned to look at Mal. "Move." He moved. I guess he does have some survival instincts after all. But he didn't move far. River was about to slide out of the booth when a voice stopped her.

"River, stay in the booth." Mal.

"We're leaving, Mal. River let's go." I turned to face him.

"River, please wait in the booth. I need to talk to your brother in private." I glared at him. "Now." He turned and began to walk away. I could have just taken River and left but I had a feeling that Mal would give chase. But what if he didn't give chase? What if he didn't want you back on his ship? I ignored the little voice, and nearly stopped short as an image of River strangling said voice popped into my head.

"River, honey, what are you doing?"

I glanced back to see River holding her hands as if ringing someone's neck, muttering to herself about someone not keeping his stupid mouth shut and consequences. Note to self, put River on Prozac.

I followed Mal to a back room and he motioned for me to sit.

"I prefer to stand."

"Sit down."

"No!"

"Sit!"

"NO!"

"DAMNIT SIMON, SIT DOWN!" That was the first time since we had run into each other that he called me by my first name. I still stood my face only inches from Mal's. His eyes were practically glowing with barely suppressed rage.

"What did you want to talk to me about? If you didn't notice, I'm in a hurry." I snapped and for a second I thought that Mal was going to hit me, but instead his hand grabbed my arm yanking me to him the other one coming to rest on the back of my neck. There was no space between us as his breath ghosted over my face.

"Do you remember what I told you that day?" I knew he meant the day I left. "I told you not to leave the ship."

"You told me not to leave the ship without an escort and River was with me." I corrected, Mal growled and gave me a little shake.

"Do you remember why I told you that? I told you that because I hate it when people run off with things that are mine. I also hate it when my property decides to leave, because then other people think that it's available to be made theirs. Now when my property goes missing especially without so much as a goodbye, I go after it and bring it back before it gets picked up by some other ship." He snarled. "Now you and your sister are going to come back onto Serenity and go back to the lives you were living before your little escapade. Got it?" I nodded. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes." I stuttered.

"Good." He seemed to be relaxing and I found myself calming down with him.

"And, Simon, no running off again." I was about to answer when his lips met mine. It was a simple kiss but then Mal never did like it when things get complicated. After a while he pulled away and releasing me turned to face the door.

"Shall we go tell the crew the good news that you're coming back onto Serenity?" Mal said holding open the door. I smiled at him and walked toward the open door. I could see River nudge Kaylee and point at us.

"Shouldn't we tell them the other good news first?"

"What other- Umph!" I kissed him and he began to kiss back.

"Mal?"

"Yes, Simon?"

"I don't like it when my property thinks they can kiss me and then walk away from me before I get my two cents."


	10. Chapter 10

(I own nothing.)

I scrubbed and cursed at the infirmary floor and the person who had set off the mini explosion.

"Six hours! Six hours I've been scrubbing at this floor! You think that the 'Stay out! Dangerous chemicals in use!' sign would have let Jayne know that entering the infirmary and knocking gunpowder into the mixture was a bad idea! But no, he had to nearly blow up the ship!"

I winced at the pain in my side. I had managed to pull Jayne out before the explosion but the blast had caught me full in the side sending me into a wall and now my left side was black and blue. I snarled, scrapping my sponge on a particularly nasty burn spot. I wanted off this moon and back to open sky. Great, now I sound like Mal. Speaking of which, they were supposed to be back an hour ago. I hope they didn't take River with them to go drinking after what happened last time. I shuddered at the memory. River had danced on the table, nearly taken off her shirt twice, knocked out the bartender when he cut her off, started four bar fights and then proceeded to throw up on Jayne and pass out. And her hangover the next day was made worse by Jayne whining about River and muttering something about a plot to destroy all his shirts.

"Simon?" I turned my attention to the door to find Kaylee standing there looking rather uncomfortable and a little worried.

"You okay? Jayne told me there was an accident."

"There was an explosion."

"Is that what shook the ship? Are you okay?" She looked even more worried.

"I'm fine, just cleaning up a little." Of course they were lies, I was indeed hurt and the cleaning had been anything but little, my blisters had blisters. I forced a smile and tried not to scream when Kaylee wrapped me in a loose and gentle hug. I think I may have cracked a rib… or six.

Finally time for dinner, I stumbled into the dining room and, after sending a glare in Jayne's direction, sat down.

"So I heard that there was some excitement while I was gone." Mal was staring at me across the table.

"Not really." I shrugged, the last thing I needed was Mal getting River concerned enough to go through my brain looking for answers, finding them and going after Jayne with a butcher knife again.

"That's not what Kaylee said, something about an explosion?" Mal asked arching an eye brow. I glared at Jayne, Mal noticing my glare and who it was directed at turned the eyebrow on Jayne.

"Simon, would you please get me some water?" River asked with her puppy eyes. I sighed and stood taking the glass and heading to the sink.

"There was a mild disturbance when some gunpowder from someone's shirt fell into a mixture that is highly explosive. Yes, no one was hurt and I cleaned everything up."

On my way back to my seat my loving, sweet, brat of a sister tripped me. Lucky for me Mal caught me, not so lucky was that one of his hands hit the bruise on my side. I screeched in pain, causing Mal and the rest of the crew to jump. I felt, rather than saw Mal lift my shirt, since my eyes were screwed shut in pain. The gasp of horror was from Kaylee.

"This is what you call no one getting hurt?" Mal snarled and I felt my body leaving the floor as two arms, one on my back and the other under my legs, wrapped around me careful not to touch my left side. Then the infirmary bed under my back and suddenly I wasn't wearing my shirt and then… nothing.

I blinked. I was lying on the infirmary bed looking for the moron who left the surgical lamp on. I shielded my eyes from the light as I groped for the off switch.

*Click*

The light went out and I looked for the person who had saved my eyes. I saw Mal standing in the doorway arms crossed looking none too happy.

"No one got hurt? What the hell were you thinking not telling anyone you were hurt! Were you going to wait till you keeled over dead?" Oh boy was he mad. He was stalking towards me like a predator on its prey. I had to defuse this fast.

"Well dead people can't talk." I said. Okay that was the wrong thing to say. Mal stalked over to the bed and I swear I thought he was going to eat me. He leaned over me, one hand holding both of my wrists immobile while the other stroked the skin where my shirt had ridden up.

"You. Will. Not. Do. Something. Like. That. Again." I was about to protest and I would have but his mouth was in the way. His mouth ravaged mine claiming it as his hand held me still. When he finally pulled away I sucked in a lungful of air, looking at the Captain.

"Wha…?"

"Do you understand me? Never do something like that again! Doug ma?" I nodded dumbly.

"Good." He kissed me once more before sweeping out of the infirmary. And all I could think was…

"What the hell just happened?"


	11. Chapter 11

(I own nothing!)

"Uh sir we have a problem." Mal groaned. They didn't have time for problems. The crew had been hired to get rid of some more bandits and since it had been on such short notices they had decided to use the same trick.

"Now what's gone wrong?" Mal snapped trying to get the back of his dress zipped, his bonnet sat crookedly on his head as he struggled. Damn dress was too small, Kaylee had resized it one size way too small.

"Well, Jayne's gone and got himself hurt." Mal cursed and gave up trying to zip up the dress.

"What did he do?" Mal said pulling off the dress so he was only in his pants and boots.

"Well the Doc said he…" Zoe put on the face she always put on when trying not to laugh.

"Well spit it out!" Mal snapped more than a little irritated.

"He broke his butt, sir." Zoe said as her lips gave a small twitch. Mal blinked.

"How?"

"He was carrying a box for Kaylee into the engine room, tripped on one of her tools and hit his backside on one of the knee knockers. Doc says that he can't go with us, seeing as he's confined to the infirmary till the drugs Simon gave him for the pain wear off and the bone sets." Mal sighed.

"Damn. I need you in the back of the wagon, we'll have to take the Shepherd with us for extra fire power, and he'll sit in the back with you." Mal threw the dress on to a chair in frustration.

"Captain, a man or woman traveling alone would be too suspicious."

"Well do you see anyone else that can wear a dress? I will not take one of the girls because if this goes wrong…" Mal didn't need to finish the sentence. Zoe took no offence at Mal's words after all she wasn't a girl she was a soldier, no matter what her husband said.

"We need someone to play the part." Zoe insisted.

"Well we don't have anyone!"

"What's with all the yelling?" Mal and Zoe turned to see the answer to their problem standing in the doorway.

"You only said they could not be a girl not that they couldn't look like one." Zoe said, Mal turned and looked Simon.

"What?" The young confused doctor asked.

"Doc, what size are you?"

"Why do I have to do this?" Simon Tam did not whine but he came damn close to it when Mal told him the plan, Zoe handed him the dress, and of course the bonnet, and told him to go change. Simon muttered to himself as he slid in to the dress, looking down he noticed that the dress wasn't long enough to cover all of his pants. Sliding them off he turned to look at himself in the mirror. The dress was the same one that Mal had worn only slightly adjusted since Simon was smaller than him, and sitting on his head the straps tied under his chin was Mal's pretty floral bonnet. Simon groaned.

"Come on Simon!" I winced at the sound of my sister's voice. "The rest of the crew wants to see."

"River you weren't supposed to tell him we were here!"

"Now he'll never come out of the closet."

"Uh, Inara, that's his bunk."

"Well he'll come out of that too." Inara said happily. I knew what she was doing, she was blackmailing me, and she would tell them my secret if I didn't come out soon. Sighing I opened the door and stepped out. I held my head high as I walked over to where my 'husband' was standing.

"You know Mal, he looks better in a dress than you do." Wash said eyeing Simon and not laughing at him, after all it could easily have been him in the dress instead of the Doc.

"Yep you married a much prettier one then I seem to end up married to." Jayne said.

"Honey, how could you say that?" Mal said giving Jayne a wounded look.

"Captain! You can't go calling others 'Honey' you're supposed to call Simon that, after all he's your 'wife'." Kaylee said a grin spread across her face.

"Oh, of course, sorry sweetheart." Mal said wrapping an arm around Simon's waist.

"I'm not sure I can do this." Simon said his bright red face buried in his hands.

"It's just pretend. Just like when your school did a play about _Romeo_ _& Juliet_."

"Oh, Simon you played Romeo in your school play? I bet you were a sight." Kaylee cooed.

"Oh he was a sight alright but he wasn't Romeo." River said giving her brother a look of shear amusement.

"I went to an all boys' school, Kaylee, I played Juliet." They stared at Simon.

"And I have pictures!" River said happily. Simon blushed as River turned to look at Mal who was looking at Simon with both eyebrows raised. "You, your wife and your ambush party can look at them when you get back. Bye." River waved as Mal began to pull Simon out of the living room and towards the cargo bay. Why did I pick this ship? Simon thought as he was lead out to the wagon.

"Get on up there darling." Mal said giving Simon's butt a smack, like one would give a stubborn mule. Groaning Simon climbed up in to the seat. And he knew that something was going to go wrong.

They rode in silence to the meet point where the ambush was to occur.

"All you have to do is keep your head down and let me do all the talking. You know I'm not going to let anyone hurt you right?" Simon turned to look at Mal.

"What?"

"You look nervous."

"I'm wearing a dress, sitting on an uncomfortable wagon bench headed into a known trap unarmed, so yeah I'm a little nervous." Simon said turning his attention back to the 'road' a head.

"Nothing is going to hurt you," Simon smiled at him. He was really seeing a whole different side of Mal. "After all remember our wedding vows? I promised to hold and protect and hold and protect I shall." Mal said wrapping a 'protective' arm around his 'wife'. Simon mentally took back every nice thing he ever said about Mal, as his face went bright red. He was grateful for the bonnet since it hid his face from Mal's view.

"Are we almost there?"

"Just a few more yards and we'll have guns pointed in our faces." Mal froze. "Simon?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you say unarmed?"

"Yes."

"Zoe was supposed to give you a gun. Zoe?"

"Sorry, sir, but Jayne wouldn't let us borrow one of his and I only have the one I'm using at the moment, I lent the other to Book."

"Shit." Mal said his arm tightening around Simon's waist. "Zoe why didn't you tell me he didn't have a gun?" Mal was livid and starting to scare the poor doctor.

"Sir, hush we're almost to the ambush site!" Mal went silent but the look on his face said that this wasn't over. As they moved through the space that was the designated ambush spot, Mal glanced around pulling Simon close against his side. They passed through and Mal breathed a sigh of relief and confusion.

"Well sweetie, looks like the bandits aren't coming out to rob today." Mal said beginning to relax.

"Sorry to disappoint but I like to keep my schedule." A voice said as about six men on horses rode up beside the wagon. "And since I hate having to run through the same dialog again and again and since you look like a smart man," He eyes Mal, "All though looks can be deceiving. So just hands over your valuables and you're wife and I'll be on my way." Simon both straightened up and leaned into Mal at the same time trying to convey to this man that he needs to kindly kiss off and die.

"Though it seems like she don't like me too much." The bandit said leering at Simon. "Hey there sweet heart, I'm afraid you're going to have to come with me and maybe after a little fun I'll let you go back to your hubby that is if you still want to." Simon leaned more in to Mal, as far away from the man as he could, away from his foul breath and the man's fellow scum's laughter.

"You can have the valuables but not my angel." Mal said a fake smile on his face and as the bandit began to laugh a joyless laugh he joined. Mal's laugh sent chills down Simon's spine, fear in his heart and pain in his side as Mal's hold became a vice.

"You got some balls on you I'll give you that." The bandit said the smile falling from his face like bird shit from a bird and about as nice. "But I wasn't asking." His hand gripped around Simon's upper arm hard and jerked him towards him. Startled, Simon did what any core-bred pansy would do, he hit at his hand. And when that didn't work, he did what his sister at the grand old age of two had demonstrated on him as to how to get someone to let go, Simon bit his hand and that bandit let go real fast. Simon thought he would be sick at the taste of blood in his mouth.

"You little!" The bandit swung back his hand to backhand Simon only to find the barrel of a gun in his face courtesy of the Shepherd.

"I don't think hitting the little lady is on your best interest there son." The Shepherd said his voice icy. Simon could hear the sound of Zoe making herself known by shooting one of the outer bandits.

"I have to agree with the Shepherd there, sir, I don't much care for men like you touching Mary here." Simon looked at Mal, noticing he had pulled his gun. Mary? I look like a Mary? Dressing like a girl was embarrassing enough and now I had a girly name? Great. Fantastic. I was never going to hear the end of this one. Simon thought bitterly.

"Now there are quite a few people in the town you been raiding who want you brought to justice and they weren't very specific as to how we do that." The bandit glared at Mal rubbing his bleeding and swelling hand. Mal watched his every move knowing that the second the bandit signaled for them to shoot all hell would break loose. And the signal could be anything, one man had made it so the third time he picked his nose was the signal, it worked great and it worked even better after he taught his guards how to count.

Then the signal came and the guns went off like horses from a starting gate, first Mal's then the bandit leader and then the rest muddled in the chaos. Simon leaned as close to the wagon bench trying to get out of the path of the bullets before they made a path through him. Simon felt a bullet graze his ear on the same side as…

"Mal?" Simon shrieked as he felt his Captain slump down. Grabbing Mal's shirt he felt the unmistakable lumpiness of an old Kevlar vest. He breathed a small sigh of relief. Mal cracked an eye and looked at him.

"Am I dead because I think I'm looking at an angel." Simon smiled and smacked Mal on the top of the head.

"If you two are done reveling in the UST in which you to will come close to doing something about it and then go back to ignoring it, can we please get this show on the road so I can get paid and home to my loving husband?" Simon looked up and saw that Zoe and Book had already tied up the bandits and moved them in to the back of the wagon.

The ride back to the town was quick and upon arrival they were paid and the men were taken into custody.

"Nice to see the end of that." The sheriff said to Mal shaking his hand.

"IT'S NOT THE END!" They turned in time to see that the leader of the gang had gotten loose and had a gun pointed at Mal's head. "LET'S SEE IF YOU HAVE ARMOR UP HERE!"

Simon didn't know why he did it just that he did. The world slowed or maybe it sped up? But when he saw that the bullet was headed for Mal's soft brain tissue, he moved in towards Mal but instead of pushing him out of the way he grabbed Mal's gun and turned, aimed for the chest and pulled the trigger. The bandit crumpled to the ground with a hole straight through his head, but not before discharging his own gun sending the bullet in a wild journey strait to Simon's chest. Mal's arms grabbed Simon around the middle and as gently as possible delivered him to the ground.

"Simon?" Mal said smacking Simon on the face trying to snap him out of shock, or what he hoped was shock at being shot.

"I'm fine Captain." Simon murmured pushing Mal's hand away from his face before he hurt more than he already did. Sitting up Mal panicked and tried to force him to lie back down.

"Doc you're not fine you've been shot and you need to-"

"MAL!" Mal stopped and looked at Simon. "I'm fine. Look." Simon said pulling open his dress front just enough for Mal to see the armor and the bullet firmly lodged in it.

Mal looked at Zoe.

"I may be crazy enough to send him out without a gun, sir, but I am not crazy enough to send him out without armor." Zoe said hands on hips. The Shepherd brought around the mule and soon they were on their way home. It was late by the time they got home, well past dinner time and they all mentally thanked Kaylee for packing them food for the trip.

"So do I get a congratulations present from my wife for a job well done?" Simon turned to look at Mal, an eyebrow arched.

"I took a bullet for you. I think that's enough of a present for one day." Simon said turning to head to his bunk. "Goodnight Captain."

"Goodnight, Doc."

Mal lay in bed for hours trying to wash his mind clean of the image of Simon falling to the ground only this time blood poured from his body like wine from broken bottle. Or sometimes he never even reached the floor he just kept falling away, farther and farther away from him. Growling Mal stood and walked into the kitchen, reaching into the cabinet where they had moved Kaylee's home brew, it supposedly out of River's reach but Mal had serious doubts about whether it actually worked, especially since it wasn't there when Mal opened the cabinet.

"Looking for this?" He gave a small jump at the voice behind him.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, Doc?" Mal asked grabbing a mug and a seat.

"Shouldn't you?" Simon poured Mal a shot and corked the bottle. Taking a sip Mal gagged.

"That's a lot stronger than I was expecting." Mal said eyeing his glass.

"I may have given Kaylee a few pointers as to how increase the alcohol content. What? You can't go to med academy for eight years and not pick up something useful." Simon said to Mal's overly interested look.

"You're plenty useful, especially in a dress." Mal snickered behind his mug.

"Ha ha, by the way sorry about the dress."

"What happened?" Mal asked setting down the mug and pouring himself another.

"When I was shot I fell into a mud puddle, tore the skirt and let's not forget the bullet hole." How could I? Mal thought staring in to the abyss of his drink and the promise of a hangover the next morning if he kept draining it at this rate.

"Well consider the dress a gift for you as a congratulations on your first bust." Mal said looking up at Simon and forcing a smile. Simon stared through it, through Mal, making Mal wonder if he had even put on clothes that morning.

"What's wrong?" Mal was startled by the question.

"What do you mean, Doc?"

"You're upset about something. You get a look on your face when you're thinking about something unpleasant; it's about a subtle as the face of someone sniffing milk a year past the due date. Plus if something wasn't wrong you'd be in bed asleep right now." Simon set down his mug. "So what's wrong?"

"You were shot."

"So? Everyone on this crew besides Inara has been shot, most times more than once." Simon said leaning his elbows on the table and resting his head on his hands.

"Simon, I couldn't- wouldn't- didn't…Simon I thought you were dead." Mal said glaring at his mug as if it had been the one to try to kill his Doc.

"But I'm not."

"You nearly were."

"I was wearing armor!"

"And that wouldn't have mattered if it had hit your head instead of your chest!" Mal stood up glaring down at the young doctor.

"He was going to shoot you!"

"I'd have rather he shoot me than you!"

"Mal," He froze at how calm Simon sounded after their near shouting match. "What is this about?" Mal walked around the table towards Simon and leaned against the table so he was looking down in to Simon's sky blue orbs.

"I nearly lost you. I couldn't sleep because I kept seeing him shoot you." Reaching out a hand he stroked Simon's cheek. "I don't ever want to lose you." Mal slowly leaned closer to Simon till their breaths mingled.

"_Captain? It's your shift."_

Mal pulled back from Simon to glare at comm. where Wash's voice had come from.

"Well I should be getting to bed." Simon muttered, well aware of what he and the Captain were about to do. Mal scowled and moved towards the cockpit to relieve Wash and bemoan the lost kiss.

"Captain?" Mal noticed that Simon had moved himself between Mal and the hallway leading to the cockpit. "I believe that I may have shorted you."

"Oh?"

"After all you did such a good job on the bust." Simon leaned up and gently brushed his lips against Mal's. Smiling Simon pulled away, the kiss only having lasted a few second. "There's your present." He walked past Mal headed towards his bunk.

*SMACK*

"And that's pay back for earlier." Mal's eyes followed Simon's retreating form with his eyes as he rubbed his butt where Simon had smacked it. Thing are about to get very interesting. Mal thought as he headed off to relieve Wash and think about what move to make next in the interesting case of Simon Tam.


	12. Chapter 12

(I own nothing!)

How did any man have the right to look like that? Jet black hair, soft white skin, red lips and the brightest blue eyes I've ever seen. I sat there blatantly staring at the boy, no man, sitting only a few feet from me. He is engrossed in a conversation with Wash about something most likely to do with dinosaurs. His face lights up but it's shadowed, the happiness never really outweighs the pain.

He is the only thing I've been thinking about lately. His rare laugh, smile, and the rarest of all are the moments when he forgets and lets down the shields behind his eyes. I notice that the top of his shirt is unbuttoned at the neck, a creamy expanse of skin showing.

"Sir, you're drooling." I glare at Zoe as she gives me a knowing smile. Oh, she knows about the small problem I have with the Doc, she also knows it has nothing to do with me not liking him.

"Well, that's because the food is so good tonight." I say trying to sound calm under the stare of my crew.

"Well I'm glad that you like 'protein' so much, Captain," Zoe said, her eyes making it very clear that she wasn't talking about the protein we were eating for the sixth night in a row "since there are so few things in life that you do like."

"There are plenty of things I like. I like when a job goes well."

"And Kaylee?" Zoe asks.

"And Kaylee."

"And the Doc." Zoe whispers so only I can hear.

"Yes and the-" I glare at her. "Nice try."

"I thought so. Captain, if you like 'protein' so much, you should say it out loud, to its face. Who knows? Maybe 'protein' will like you back." She stands and leaves the dining room. Standing up, I follow her.

In the silence of the dining room Jayne pipes up.

"Mal likes protein?"

I stomp into the cockpit after Zoe.

"What was that?" I snarl, my eyes blazing with anger. Zoe is the only person who wouldn't cower under my wrath. She stands there calmly.

"Sir, I'm going to say this bluntly, you're being stupid." I continue to glare.

"You really don't see the problem do you? What if it ends badly? This crew needs a doctor."

"It also needs a Captain who's not heartbroken."

"Don't you see that I can't take this risk?"

"You take bigger risks every day! Sir, you will walk head on into a trap knowing full well that you might die, but the second a matter of the heart comes up, you run as fast as you can in the opposite direction!"

"This conversation is over, Zoe."

"I took the risk and look at me now. I'm happily married with a wonderful husband."

"I'm not you, and life seems to think playing cruel jokes on me is funny."

"But sir-"

"No, Zoe." She sighs and walks toward the door, but she stops and looks at me.

"I just want you to be happy, Sir."

"I am happy." I pretend that she can't see through the lie and smile plastered on my face. She leaves and I sag against the console as the image of a blue-eyed doctor waft across my mind.

Zoe sighs as she makes her way to the engine room. She could be wrapped in her husband's arms at the moment, but no, she has to do everything for the Captain. Just like in the war when she had to get him medical attention, only now she has to get the whole medic. She sighs again as she turns the last corner and enters the engine room.

"Kaylee? I need your help with something."

"Captain?" I groan into my mug of morning coffee because I know that voice. That is Kaylee's something's broken voice.

"Yes, Kaylee?" I ask, almost scared to know the answer.

"Well, one of the air coils snapped and flooded some of the rooms with gas."

"So?"

"So we can't use some of the rooms since they're flooded and so I've sealed them off. All of the passenger dorms and Zoe's room are sealed off. Zoe's assigning roommates as we speak." I groan. She wouldn't. But the look on her face as she walks into the room told me she had.

"Here's the list of your roommates for tonight. Book will be rooming with Jayne, River will be in Kaylee's bunk, Wash and I will sleep in the shuttle and Simon, you're rooming with the Captain." I was fuming.

"Come on, Honey, let's go make sure that the bed's big enough." Wash says pulling Zoe out of the room. I glare at the spot where she had been.

"Captain?" The voice strokes my ears softer than the finest silk.

"What, Doc?" It comes out sharper than I intend and the Doc flinches.

"If you don't want to room with me, I can switch with Book."

"No, if you room with Jayne, you'll be dead before midnight." I say not bothering to look at the Doc's face. I already know what look it is. One of pain and hurt.

I avoid everyone that day, and give Wash the day off; the ship is on auto pilot so while there isn't much to do, it is enough. I sit in the pilot's chair and stare out into the inky depths, I stay there till it is late, and most of the crew would be in bed. I drift through the halls and to my bunk, clanging open the door and dropping down. And proceed to reach for my gun and point it in the face of a very startled doctor. Why is he? Then I remembered that we would be sharing my bunk tonight.

"M-Mal?" He is a little shaken up, but he is pretty calm for someone with a gun pointed in his face. I return the gun to its holster, and go about my nightly routine.

"You didn't come to dinner."

"Yeah so?" I yank off my suspenders and strip down to my pants.

"I-I thought that you might get hungry." I look at the desk where he's motioning and sitting there on my desk is a plate with a napkin over it. "I don't know if it's still hot, but-" he trails off as I pick up the plate and sit on my bed to eat.

I watch as he brushes his teeth and pulls out a pair of sleep pants that must have come out of the wash. He began to strip off his shirt and is about to take off his pants, when he turns to look at me.

"Captain?"

"Yes?"

"Were you just going to sit there and let me take my clothes off?" he sounds slightly embarrassed.

"Well, I doubt you have anything I haven't seen before. Unless there's something you ain't told us. Though that would explain why you look like a-" Simon glares at me and walks behind the ladder to at least get the illusion of privacy. When he comes back out his face is somewhat less red than before. I stare at the expanse of skin and the grace that carries him over to the closet on the other end of my bunk as he-

"What in the name of all things good are you doing?" He looks up confused as he lays out a blanket and pillow on the floor.

"I'm making my bed."

"You honestly think that I'm going to make you sleep on the floor?" I raise my eyebrows at the look of bewilderment on the Doc's face.

"Where else would I sleep?"

"On the bed."

"Where would you sleep?"

"On the bed."

"Then where would I sleep?"

"You would sleep on the bed w-with me. Didn't we cover this already?"

"Captain, I can't do that."

"Why not? Didn't you have a roommate at that fancy medical academy you're so proud of going too?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"No buts. Now get in bed so we can get some beauty sleep."

"I can sleep on the couch out in the living room."

"Doc, now!" He slowly walks toward the bed like a man would walk toward the gallows.

"Come on, Doc, I won't bite. Much." He is just too much fun to tease. I set down my now empty plate and scoot over to make room for him. He slides in next to me and pulls the covers over his head. It's nice. The warmth that comes from his body is soothing and soon my eyes drift shut, his breathing a soft lullaby filling my bunk. It drives the silence out and is as calming as his voice.

I wake up at midnight as I do every night since Jubal's visit, but as I stand to go do a quick sweep of the ship, a hand grips my own as a sleepy voice becomes audible.

"Mal? What are you doing?" He rubs his eyes with the hand not attached to my arm. "It's midnight, Mal, where in the world are you going?" His eyes are on me now.

"Bathroom." Simon arched a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Really?"

"No." How the heck did he see through a perfectly good lie so easily? "I'm just going out to check the ship."

"Ah." That 'ah' bothers me. It is the 'ah' of someone who knows something the other person doesn't want them to know.

"Ah?"

"Well, it makes sense that you would check up on the crew."

"And why exactly does it make sense?" He gives me a small sad sleepy smile, pulling his knees up and resting his arms and chin on them.

"A person came in and broke into your castle." He's been spending too much time with River, he's beginning to talk like her.

"A man's home is his castle." I knew the saying.

"But it shouldn't have to be a fortress, Mal." His eyes are as sad as his smile now. He releases my arm and I exit the bunk to check the ship for any more psychopaths in red leather with hearing problems.

The check didn't take long. With a sigh of relief that there is no one on this ship that needs a trip out the air lock, I trudge back to my bunk.

"So, no space invader on board, Captain?" Once again I jump at the sound of the Doc's voice.

"Why are you still up?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"I can see that. I meant, why can't you sleep? My talk of psychos walking the ship give you nightmares?"

"No." His voice is weary and it isn't from lack of sleep.

"Doc, you ok?"

"I'm going to go sleep on the couch." He stands and begins to walk past me. I grab his arm.

"Simon, please. Just stay." He shakes my hand off and walks toward the ladder. I give out a sigh and climb into bed turning to face the wall. Then the bed shifts and I feel the Doc climb in. I smile.

When I wake up, he is gone, a warm empty space and a memory are the only markers that he had ever been there. Pulling myself out of bed, I feel all of my joints beg for me to crawl back in bed and sleep.

Breakfast is a quiet affair, well for me, the Doc and Zoe it is. The Doc is especially interested in his oatmeal this morning, Zoe is trying to see if anything happened last night and I'm too busy either staring at the Doc or glaring a my first mate to care to make civil conversation.

It is later when I'm looking for Simon's shopping list that Zoe and I finally have a conversation that has been coming for a long time. Simon has taken to writing out a list of everything we're out of so that there won't be any 'oops we forgot this or we forgot that' moments.

"Sir?" I jump. Damn how the heck does she do that?

"Yes, Zoe?"

"Sir, I gave you the best opportunity I could, but no, you just couldn't risk it!"

"It is not your place to interfere!"

Zoe sighs. "Sir, if you look me in the eye and tell me the truth whatever it may be, I promise that I will never interfere again."

I stare at her and sigh. "I don't love the Doc, I never really learned what love is but I need him like I need Serenity. I need him to keep me flying and if that's what love is, then yes, I love him. I just need him and I don't think Serenity would be enough to keep me flying if he left. Okay?"

"Yes, sir. I'll leave you alone."

"Thank you."

"After all you and the Doc probably want to talk alone." I whip around and there standing in the doorway, a stunned look on his face, is the good doctor. I am going to kill Zoe. But I don't have a chance because she's slipping out the door with a grin on her face, and I see her mouth 'don't screw this up.'

"Listen Doc-"

"Did you mean it?" His eyes are hard to read but he's scared… of me? Great I just scared off the doctor that my crew needs and all because I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

"Doc I-"

"Did you mean it? Yes or No?" He looks me in the eye, riveting me to the spot.

"Yeah, Doc, I meant it."

"I never thought that-"

"It's okay, Doc. Nobody wants a mean old Browncoat." I turn and begin to walk past him.

"I do."

"What?" He turns and walks toward me till we're a breath apart.

"I want a mean old Browncoat. The same mean old Browncoat that risked his life for me and my sister, that is willing to give anything and everything for his crew, and the man that needs me to keep him flying as much as I need him." He's so close now that his lips nearly brush mine as he talks.

"You sure you know what you're getting into here, Doc?"

"I do know, Mal, the question is, do you? Do you want to be with a young, lily-white, core- bred pansy doctor with a sister that can kill people with her brain?"

"Well, I've never really been one for the normal, easy, less life-threatening path anyway." He smacks me on the arm before his lips meet mine.

Down in her bunk Zoe smiles. Life is about to get a lot better. Sighing, she snuggles down in the cushion and falls asleep trying not to think about all the money she owes Kaylee for lying to the Captain.


	13. Chapter 13

(I own nothing!)

(This is a little darker than usual and focuses on Simon and Inara but in a brother sister way.)

When you met Him, He was a small child, only eight years old the same as you, in a hospital waiting for His sister to be born. They didn't know the sex of the child said they wanted it to be a surprise, but He knew, He always knew. You were crying because your mother had just died, you weren't looking where you were going and walked straight into His arms and maybe into His heart as well. He never let go not as you tried to apologize through the tears, not when you gave up and just held on, not when He sat you down on a bench and pet your hair. When He was called to see His sister you held on to His hand and He didn't send a glance your way as if you had been doing this for years. When you entered the room you let go and you felt like a sailor who had lost their life line. But when He was handed his sister He turned and looked straight in to your eyes, His unnerving icy blue eye looking through you.

"Come and see my sister." And suddenly you don't know if He's talking to you or the babe in His arms. But you step forward and look. The child is still pink and her eyes are screwed shut against the light but for a moment you think she opens them and you see a flash of deep warm brown eyes.

When He leaves He takes you with Him, walking you to the waiting car. His parents ask Him who you are but He merely looks at them and helps you into the car. The house you arrive at is huge like a mansion. You are scared but feel His hand wrapped around yours and you walk with Him. He takes you to the kitchen and feeds you stew and fresh bread right out of the oven. After He takes you to His room and hands you a warm soft blanket. You lay on the floor to sleep and feel a hand on your arm pulling you gently on to the bed. He wraps you in the blanket and His arms as you drift off to sleep.

You awaken to the sound of shouting. It is not morning but the middle of the night and you awaken alone. You panic looking for the small boy. You hear Him before you see Him. He is sitting on the window seat singing a lullaby to His sister. When He looks up you go to Him and sit so your head is in His lap and listen. And you know the song isn't just for the babe but for you as well.

Life goes on like that for a while, you go to school with Him, sleep in the same room and love the same sister. When you are thirteen a companion comes to class to talk about their life and you watch as she moves no glides across the floor, her skirts swishing about her slender legs. You listen enchanted by her story and when you go home you tell Him you want to be a companion. He merely smiles and nods but His smile isn't as bright. He talks to you and helps you prepare for the entrance exam. And you squeal when you get in. But they didn't tell you that you'd have to leave for training, and now you know why He was sad that day. But when you asked Him why He didn't tell you, He merely says that if He had you wouldn't have gone. You know His words are true but it doesn't stop the sting of the fear over leaving Him. Or the pain as the shuttle carries you from Him and your home in His arms.

You train hard to be the best and He waves you every day, telling you of your sister and His medical training and you lie about your own training not wanting to worry Him. But He sees you strain and begin to shatter. You're sixteen and one day when you're out on a day off, a familiar hand wraps around your own. You don't need to look to know it's Him. He leads you to a tree with a basket under it and you eat the fresh fruit and sandwiches as people walk past. You stop lying and He holds you as you let it all out, the words the tears and the pain you've carried since you left Him. When He leaves He doesn't say goodbye, He just smiles and waves as the shuttle takes off and you leave Him again, although He's the one headed home you're the one leaving, because He never leaves you, ever. You get a wave from His father two days later mad that He missed an exam that could set Him back a year in His training; His father says that if you really want the best for Him you'll not contact Him again. So the next time He waves you and you pretend you aren't there and that hearing His voice knowing it will be the last time doesn't hurt. You pretend you aren't crying as you send Him a voice message saying that He's holding you back and that the waves have to stop. You send a voice message because you can't send a wave or He'd see the tears and the pain painted on the face He would caress as you slept. He comes back and waits outside your window for a week until the police are called and He is walked away in handcuffs. You puke from the pain going through your gut and the guilt of knowing you hurt Him.

Next time you see Him you're eighteen and a legal companion and well on your way to the top. You're at a party on the arm of a high class politician when you see Him. He's thinner and you worry that He hasn't been eating, but His eyes are as sharp as they always were. You don't see your date hand you a drink and you nearly drop it and He laughs at your clumsiness but He doesn't come over. You are introduce to Him by your date later on, He is introduced as Dr. Tam but you slip and call Him by His first name instead. He fixes you're mistake by saying that you are old friends, setting your date at ease and He asks you for a dance. You accept and let Him pull you out on to the floor. You dance but He doesn't say a word, but His eyes speak of His respect for you and how proud He is of you and then the pain of you leaving. You open your mouth to explain but the song ends, He kisses your hand and disappears in to the crowd. You look for Him but He's gone and you cry yourself to sleep that night holding the hand He kissed close to your heart.

You're twenty, and you think of Him as you look around the shuttle. It is small and cozy. You think about His arms around you as you slept all those years ago. The Captain is rough around the edges and you wince every time the Captain calls you a whore. You rent it because the place reminds you of Him. You cry when the Captain leaves to get your stuff and bring it in for you. You send a prayer that wherever He is He still finds time to spare a kind thought for you.

The next time you hear about Him you're twenty four and unable to believe your ears. A fugitive? You worry as you pace the floor of your shuttle. You in turn make the sweet little mechanic worry, which causes the Captain to storm into your shuttle. You pretend to listen but your mind and heart are a million miles away with Him.

It's only two months later that you see Him on the ship you think of as home. He looks tired to your well trained eyes, but He holds His head high. You want to talk to Him but don't have a chance as you walk away from both Shepherd and the Captain, fury coursing through your veins at being called a whore, again. You race out of your shuttle at the sound of shouting to see one of the passengers pointing a gun in His face. When the gun goes off you close your eyes scared to open them until you hear more shouting and you see Him stand devoid of bullet holes. But you feel sick as you see who was shot instead. You hear His words and they freeze your blood. He was going to let her die? You're mind reels at the words. But you know Him well enough to know He's not joking. What happened to Him?

You wait outside the infirmary for Him to come out, but instead you go in. Then the world is moving fast again and your following them to the cargo bay, and you want to shoot the 'public relations' man when the man grabs him. You watch as the Captain kicks open the cryo, you hear the Captain say the everything-said-in-one-syllable word. And you know that the Captain is rambling on about something, but your eyes are on what is in the box as you try to see their face. Then it screams and you feel like doing the same as you see who it is, your blood runs cold as He holds her and calms her babbling. It's your sister.

You listen to His story and you want to be sick and then you feel rage at what they did. You want to hold Him but you know that you can't, you made your choice. You're hurt because when He looked at you there was no glimmer of recognition. He is busy with the mechanic and you are busy with watching Him and trying to find the shreds of the boy He was.

You mean it when you tell the Captain that if they go so do you, just not like the Captain thinks you mean. If they leave you'll go with Him, even if it means leaving the Guild and becoming a fugitive. But then the Reavers come and go and you are reminded of your weakness. You never notice the spot where He sat guarding your door. When the Captain leaves and the government man escapes your heart stops. When you see Him standing there a gun pointed at the man who was going to shoot your sister you're terrified that you'll lose them both. You nearly cry for joy when you see the man falls to the floor a bullet to the skull.

You are scared as you pull Him and your sister in to you shuttle and lock the door ready to take off. You just notice that He places Himself in front of the door just in case and now you know why the doorway smelled like Him during their last encounter with Reavers. You're sad to see Him leave when the danger is over and you're worried that the Captain is going to throw Him off. But as you pass the cockpit on walk to get rid of the jitters from the run in with the Reavers, you hear them talking and the Captain offers Him a home on the ship. You smile as you walk back to your shuttle but there is a pain in your heart that He doesn't remember you. That is until He shows up at your door, a tired smile on His face. You once again have His arms wrapped around you as you drift off to sleep.

As time passes you spend more time with Him. You wince when you see Him stutter and fumble through His words when he talked to anyone. He wasn't like this, but He was tired and beaten and every time He makes a mistake you wince. He spends His nights in the infirmary and you take Him snacks at midnight and talk late. You watch Him as he pours over text book after text book His hard eyes looking for the right answer to His sister.

You watch as He begins to look at the Captain like that, the same way that you look at Him. You know that you can't have Him. He needs someone to take care of Him, not to care of. So you watch as He watches the Captain and slowly the Captain begins to watch back. You begin to smile with the mechanic and begin to watch her too. But you're scared of what you feel, till one day you're talking with her and you see Him look at you both and He nods a small smile on his lips.

You're hired one day by a man who was praised highly by the Guild. You accept and have a good time till something goes horribly wrong. The man hits you. When you get back to where Serenity was docked, the left side of your face is bruised. You don't go to watch the game of 'get the ball through the hoop without getting injured'. You don't go to dinner. You don't go to Him. You stay in your shuttle. You want to go to Him, you even leave your shuttle at midnight to see Him because your resolve is wavering. But then you see Him sitting there an empty coffee mug, He never used to drink coffee only tea, His hair going every which way and the bags under His eyes as He looks through another text book. You go back to your shuttle and cry, for Him, for you, and for your sister.

You go back to the man the next day by request of the Guild. The man apologized and promised that he would not do it again but by the end you go home with bruises on your arms and sides. You go to Him that night. You go to Him because you think one of your ribs is broken and you're scared. When He sees you His eyes light up and then darken as He sees why you've come to visit. His hands are gentle as He fixes you, making sure everything was in order. He waits for you to tell Him, but you just shake your head. He lets you go as you walk away.

The next time is even worse. You only go because the Guild has once again requested you to go. It's worse than you thought it would be. By the time you dock at Serenity you want to die. Wash asks if the dock went well, but you ignore him. You get a call from a friend congratulating you on becoming a personal companion. Then it makes sense. The Guild wanted to get deeper in to the man's pocket and how better than to give him a personal companion? You cry.

Later you hear a banging on the door. It's the Captain, demanding to know if you're alright. You only manage a small 'yes' before you are too choked up to speak. Then the Captain orders you to open the door, but you can't. It hurts. It hurt to move, to breathe, to think. And then the banging stops and you hear His voice. He's calling your name and you barely manage to stand and open the door. He steps inside and the room brightens, you close the door before anyone else enters. He looks at you and you feel ashamed. He picks you up and moves you to the small bathroom. He pulls the bathtub out of the wall and begins to fill it with water and lavender. He takes a rag and slowly removes your clothes, washing every inch of skin as it is exposed. He lifts you in to the tub, washes your hair, and lets you soak. You close your eyes, and when you open them He's gone. You panic and knock over one of the glass tea light and it shatters on the floor. Then He's back and He picks up the shards whispering words of comfort as He does. He lifts you out of the tub and pulls the plug. He sets you on a pillow in your room and dries you off, then He takes oil and began to message your muscles driving away the last of the pain. He wraps you in a warm fuzzy bathrobe and places in front of you what had taken Him from you in the bath, it was a plate of fruits, cheese, crackers and a small bowl of chicken broth. He feeds it to you, piece by piece. You feel relaxed the memories of earlier just memories. He braids you hair and puts on music. You dance to an old waltz and you feel safe. When He carries you to bed and climbs in next to you, you tell Him, you tell Him everything, the man hitting you, the personal companion and your fear. At the end He is lying next to you and is deathly silent. You feel Him pull you tight careful of any bruises and He promises that everything will be fine. You think back on a promise He made you years ago before you left to start your training. You had been about to climb in to the shuttle when He pulled you back, just far enough to whisper this in your ear 'If you ever need me I'll be there.' You fall asleep, so deep you don't dream, so deep you don't feel Him leave. You don't hear Him tell the crew you'll be fine. You don't see the look in His eyes as he tells the Captain that He needs to borrow the second shuttle. You aren't there when He lands. You don't see Him walk in to the man's house or the man's bedroom. You don't know about the knife in His sleeve. And you never hear the man's screams.

When you wake up the crew is waiting for you in the kitchen. They don't ask but you tell them anyway. The mechanic wraps her arms around you at the end and the rest are silent, except for the Shepherd who says a prayer for you. You turn to your sister who has a look on her face that is both sad and worried. You hear her mutter 'mothers will kill to protect their young, more young since finding a mate, made His mate's kits His own, but never neglects His own' She goes on but it's the first part that has your attention as you turn on the news wave. And there on the screen is the man and the news reporter is talking about how the man was stabbed to death at home last night. There is bruising on the body, but only you recognize the pattern, after all you just saw it in the mirror that morning. You stare at the screen, until your sister pips up 'He went out last night.' You turn and watch as He walks in to the room, and thanks the Captain for letting Him borrow the shuttle. You watch as He sits and glances at the screen. His mouth has a small smirk as He listens to what the reporter is saying but His eye hold no malice in them as He looks at you, only a promise. 'If you ever need me, I'll be there.'

You can only breathe one word.

His name.

"Simon."

(I hate to sound whiny but i didn't get many reviews last time and i added alot of chapters, so if you find the time send in the review and let me know that someone likes my stories.)


	14. Chapter 14

(I own nothing!)

I set down the last scalpel and look around the room. The Captain had gotten a job moving cattle from one town to the other daily. The herds had been too big and the trail too long to move safely over that distance. Jayne, Zoe, Wash and the Captain would move the cattle from town to town every day on Serenity and I would help out at the local clinic while everyone else did something, what I'm not exactly sure, and most likely wouldn't care if I did since I already had a job. They already had a doctor, but it was better than sitting around doing nothing or going shopping with Kaylee and Inara. *Shudder*

"Simon, are you done yet?" I smile at Tom, the small town's resident doctor.

"Yes." He's a sweet man, always willing to help with anything and not too bad looking. His skin is pale from working away from the sun's glare, his hair is blonde, his eyes a vivid olive green and he's the same height as me.

"You are going to be leaving soon?" I nod.

"Yes, the Captain only has two days left in the contract and then back to the black." I'm going to miss working here, with the wide open space, but I find myself missing the hum of the engine and the gentle sway of the floor under my feet.

Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I notice Tom shift uncomfortably.

"Something wrong?"

"N-No, well maybe, yes? I don't know." He stutters not looking me in the face.

"Tom, you okay?" I'm starting to get worried.

"Simon I was-" He stopped to clear his throat. "Simon…"

"Yes?" He was wringing his hands and still refused to look me in the eye.

"Simon…" He took a deep breath and his next words freeze me in my tracks.

Later that day I find myself staring at my dinner and trying to pay attention to the conversation. But it is hard because my mind keeps wandering to Tom. What in the world had I been thinking?

"Doc, something wrong?" I lift my head to see Mal looking at me expectantly.

"No."

"Really? Because you haven't eaten anything."

"Well more for us then." Jayne says reaching for my plate before Mal smacks his hand and glares at him, then turns back to look at me.

"Nothing's wrong, Captain, just not really hungry." He seems to accept this answer because he turns back to his dinner, but I can still feel his eyes on me. There is silence at the table before a thought hits me.

"Captain?"

"Yes, Doc?"

"Will you have any need for me tomorrow?" He stares at me looking for what I might be getting at.

"Yeah, Doc, we need a pansy-assed core-boy to help us move cattle." Jayne snarls at me. Mal smacks him again and gives him the 'I will throw you out the airlock if you keep this up' look.

"No, I can't think of any reason that we would need you."

"Good." I take a sip of water, stand and begin to clear my dishes.

"Do you mind my asking as to why it's good that we don't need you? You planning on running off on us Doc?" Mal asks with a smile on his face.

"No." I hear them go back to eating and I contemplate not telling them. It is my business but I don't want to give the captain any more reasons to hit me. "I won't be here for dinner tomorrow night."

"And why is that?"

"Because… I have a date." The sound of both food and drink being expelled from the crew's mouths tells me that my having a date is right up there with Jayne getting a sex change on the possibility scale.

"You have a what?" I hear Mal choke out, trying to regain his breath.

"I have date." I finally turn to look at them and they stare like hypnotized lemmings at me. All in all it is kind of creepy.

"Why, Captain, is it so strange that the good doctor should have a date?" I smile at Book, he is the only one taking this well. He was a good friend. "Do you have a problem with slys?" Okay, never mind, I hate him.

I hadn't exactly told anyone that particular fact about myself. Except Book, of course, because I thought he could keep his big mouth shut!

"No, Shepherd, I ain't got a problem with the Doc going off on a date. Be it a man or not." Mal levels a look at Book, daring him to give him a lecture.

River asks, "Are you sure, Captain? What if they fall in love, we move into a little cottage and there'll be singing animals and flowers. Everyone will randomly burst into song and dance." Everyone turns to stare at River.

"Kaylee, what exactly have you been letting River do when you watch her? Never mind, I really don't want to know." I sigh rubbing my temples. "Anyway, I haven't even gone on the date yet. It might not work out."

"But it might and then everyone who missed their chance will spend the rest of their lives alone and miserable and hating themselves for missing their one chance at true happiness, forever doomed to be apart because they are too thick-headed to get off their ass, take a risk and stop being such a wimp!"

"Okay, that was really specific." Wash said eyeing River.

"So who's the lucky boy?" I smile at Inara. Finally, someone who's not acting psycho.

"Tom. He is the doctor here in town. He'll be picking me up tomorrow night at five to go to dinner."

"What's he like?" Kaylee pipes in.

"It doesn't really matter since we will be meeting him tomorrow night." I jerk as Mal speaks for the first time in several minutes. "He's going to be picking the Doc up from here so ya'll will get your chance to bug him. Right, Doc?"

"Right…" I won't get to go on the date since Tom will go running for the hills the second he meets them. Shit.

"BOOB!" River screams, causing us to jump.

"Now what have I done?" I groan.

"Not you." She says glaring. "But you're stupid, too."

"Thanks." I mutter stalking out of the room thinking about my date tomorrow.

The next day isn't eventful but tension is dancing in the air as the time for my date draws closer. Inara helps me pick out something to wear, Kaylee bugs me all day about Tom and the Shepherd gives me the 'keep all your buttons buttoned' lecture while trying not to let me know that's what he is doing. I don't think I have ever been so embarrassed in my life.

I stand in the infirmary. I'm not cleaning or doing any sort of work, I am just standing there tugging at my clothes. I'm wearing a simple light blue shirt unbuttoned at the neck, black vest and black slacks.

I glance at the clock on the wall. Five minutes till Tom is supposed to pick me up. Walking out of the infirmary, I slip past the kitchen where the crew is talking of playing poker. Once I am clear of the kitchen, I run to the cargo bay as quietly as I can.

I haven't been on a date in years, but I remember the meet-the-parents part and I that had hated it. But I know one thing, it was nothing compared to what would happen if Tom has to meet the crew.

I am only a few feet from the door when a stray thought wafts across my mind.

If I leave now I might be able to catch Tom at the clinic and not have to have him meet the rest of the residents of the nut house.

Shit. I'm not supposed to think that. And only a few seconds later I hear my brat sister's voice.

"CAPTAIN! SIMON'S TRYING TO SNEAK OUT WITHOUT US MEETING HIS DATE!"

River, you stupid brat.

I hear the sound of pounding footsteps behind me. I run for the door and almost have it open when a hand lands on it forcing it shut again. Rats.

"You're leaving already, Doc?" I turn to see a slightly out of breath Malcolm Reynolds. "Nice try."

I glare at him. "I got a wave from Tom asking me to meet him at the clinic."

"Really? That's not a very gentlemanly thing to do this close to your date. Wash, did we get any waves today for the Doc?"

"No, sir, we didn't." I turn my evil eye on Wash and give him the 'we are no longer friends' look. He smiles and mouths 'sorry' with no conviction.

"Well, then we'll all have to wait for him to show up, won't we?"

"Yes, sir, I think that's the best idea you've had all day," Zoe says. I would have glared at her but one: she still had her gun and two: there was a knock on the door. I moved to open it but Mal beat me to it, throwing open the door.

There on the other side stood Tom, a bouquet of roses in one hand and a shy smile on his face.

"Hi."

"Hi." I try to smile back but the form of an overly nosy Captain gets in the way.

"Hello," Tom stutters, faced with an intimidating Malcolm Reynolds. "Who are you?"

"It's rude to ask someone's name before telling them your own." Tom blushes at the scolding. "My name is Captain Malcolm Reynolds," Mal says in what I think is supposed to be a greeting, but sounds more like a threat.

"My name's Tom. It's a pleasure to meet you." He holds out his hand but Mal ignores it.

"The pleasure is all yours. Now what do you want?"

"Uh- I'm here to pick up Simon for our date? Is he here?"

"I'm here." I call forcing my way past Mal before he gives Tom a heart attack from fright. Tom stares at me and I blush.

"Wow. I mean, you look great."

"You mean he hasn't looked good any other time you've seen him?" Mal, I could just shoot you.

"No!"

"So he looks horrible any other time?"

"No he- I mean yes-he always looks good just- he- um-"

"Are those for me?" I cut in before Mal can give Tom an ulcer from worry.

"Yes!" Tom nearly shouts, happy to be discussing something that he understands. He hands me the flowers as I mentally curse every Reynolds I can think of and since I only know the one, it's a short list.

"They're beautiful, thank you." I smile at him and he relaxes a little. "River, why don't you go put these in some water?" I ask, handing them to my sister who is still glaring at Tom.

"Why do I have to?" She asks in a whisper.

"Because I'm scared to leave Tom alone with the Captain or anyone else on this crew for longer than .001 of a nanosecond," I hiss back. She takes the roses.

"You're going to regret this."

"I already do," I mutter. Turning back, I find Mal circling Tom, like a lion would a hurt gazelle before it delivers the killing blow.

"Tom?" Both men jump at the sound of my voice. "Shouldn't we be going?"

"Y-Yes, we should," Tom stutters as we head for the door.

"Oh, can't you stay a little longer? I mean, we only just got to know you." Mal smiles.

"No, if we stay any longer we'll lose our reservations," I say smiling back at Mal.

"We don't have-" I pinch the skin on the back of Tom's arm. "H- He's right, we have to get going."

I all but drag Tom out of the ship.

"What did I do to piss off the captain?" Tom asks as we walk to the restaurant.

"You didn't do anything wrong, there's just something wrong with him," I mutter as we vanish into the night.

I stare at the door that the Doc and that boy walked out of.

"How long are they going to be gone?" I snarl turning to look at Zoe.

"Sir, they've only been gone fifteen minutes. Since most dates last at least an hour, my guess is a while," she replies, rolling her eyes. "Captain, why are you so worried?"

"What do we really know about this boy? I only met him for three minutes before he dragged Simon off for their 'date'. Do you know anything about him?"

"No, I don't know him," Zoe said, watching me as I pace the length of the cargo bay door. "And, sir?"

"Yes."

"You're wrong about who was doing the dragging. I think Simon was worried that you'd scare off his date. You weren't being the most charming man to him."

"Charming? I thought Mal was going to shoot the boy!" Wash said from his place on the floor. He was attempting to beat both Kaylee and River at checkers at the same time.

"I was worried! As I just said we don't know the boy and we just let him walk off with our medic, who might I add, is a wanted fugitive? So excuse me for being a little worried."

"Captain Daddy's right, he could be a serial killer who's going to take Simon in to his basement and hack him into small pieces."

I stare at River.

"Thank you, River, that makes us all feel so much better," Wash says, rolling his eyes as he takes one of Kaylee's kings.

"Or worse, he could make a salesperson disguised as a doctor," River says, a look of fear on her face. She jumps the rest of Wash's pieces, winning the game and sticks out her tongue.

"Now everybody stop," Book says, looking up from his bible. "We should be happy for Simon. He spends all his time cooped up in that infirmary. He deserves a night out. And he deserves the right to his privacy."

We all look at our feet slightly ashamed. He did deserve a night out, but why couldn't he do that with one of us with him, one of us with a nice big gun strapped to their hip.

"Anyway," Book continued. "I already ran a background check on the man. Apart from a few minor bar fights and murders, he's completely clean."

I choked on my own spit.

"WHAT?" We stare at the Shepherd.

"I'm kidding. The man is completely clean. Well, I wasn't kidding about the bar fights."

"Shepherd, don't joke about the safety of my crew. I was about to go out there and shoot the bastard. Then I would have to explain to the feds that I shot him because our Shepherd has a sense of humor." I growled.

"Well, the look on your face was pretty funny, Captain."

"Wash, don't you have a ship to fly?"

"We're not flying right now, Captain."

"Then go find something to do that isn't bothering me! Now git!" I shooed them out.

"This is going to be a long wait." I sigh, sitting down on the steps and staring at the door.

The date is going well. We were eating at a nice restaurant and he is as sweet as any person could be without turning into a pile of sugar. But even as he tells me about what drew him to me and asks about my past, I feel a hole. Not just a hole, but something missing, something important. There isn't any sarcasm or crude jokes, no cursing under his breath when something goes wrong with our order and he doesn't smile at the little details like… Oh, bloody hell. I am _not _thinking about the captain while on my date!

I will have fun and not think about crude, rugged, ship captains in suspenders and long brown coats.

"Where the hell is he? He is past his curfew!" I snarl, once again pacing the length of the floor, Wash had muttered something about me wearing holes in the floor before I ordered him to help the Shepherd in the kitchen.

"We have a curfew, sir?" I glare at her, well, not her, more like the smirk happily situated on her lips.

"We do now." I glare at the clock as it seems to slow down just to spite me. Doc is in for an earful when he gets back.

I sit there sipping wine that for once is actually the vintage that the bottle says it is. Ah, the things you miss after living out in the black. Tom sits across from me, talking about surgeries he's done and some of his patients. I find myself wondering why we aren't talking about guns, smuggling jobs or telling funny and mostly inappropriate stories.

I drain my glass and as he refills it, I begin to think about how soft his hands look. They look like they haven't worked a day in their life and they look…girly.

I am losing my mind.

"Sir, calm down. Doc will be back soon, you'll realize you worried for nothing, and then we can get some sleep."

She is right, things are going to be fine. The Doc will come home and we will leave this planet the first chance we get.

_Unless River was right about the ax murderer thing. _The very unhelpful voice in the back of my head adds.

Oh, hell.

We sway on the dance floor. My hands are on his shoulders, and his on my waist. I wouldn't have to stand on the balls of my feet to be eye level during a screaming fight.

I look at him as we sway and about as slow as a speeding train everything wrong with this man hits me… or everything not wrong with him. His eyes aren't blue enough and I don't become lost in them. His hair is so blonde it looks gaudy. He is wearing a tie and his pants look way too loose for him, he is wearing green instead of brown and doesn't have suspenders on. He speaks like a robot without an accent and he doesn't speak Chinese. And when he speaks, he lacks authority.

And this is getting way out of hand.

I am about to start pulling my hair out by the roots.

Where in the world is that boy? And then every place I didn't want to find him assaults my mind.

I growl at the door in warning that there would be consequences if he didn't walk through it soon.

We walk back to Serenity. Tom, ever the gentleman, had paid the tab. He holds my hand and my arm feels oddly stretched trying to hold on. As Serenity comes into view, I think about our date and try to view it as anything but completely and utterly wrong. I try to think of something about the date that I can't find a problem with. The food was lacking spices, the restaurant felt dead without any bright Kaylee smiles and well, it just wasn't for me.

As we stop outside the door to my home, Tom turns to me. I look into his eyes and I see what should have been mirrored in my own. Love.

He leans forward and gives me a kiss. It is a good kiss, but it didn't make my heart flutter, it is unheated and he doesn't take control. I try; I try to pour myself into the kiss.

I want him to be the right one. Maybe I could do it; maybe I could live here and be happy. But only a core pansy could live here and I realize that I no longer was part of that world. I'm not part of the Rim world either. I am part of Serenity.

He pulls away.

"I'm sorry."

"I know. I really wish that it was me, Simon. You're the most amazing man I have ever met." He cups my face, stroking my cheek. "I hope he knows how lucky he is." I blush and try not to cry at the look of hurt on his face that he's trying to hide.

"I'm so sorry." But this time he just smiles.

"Just…Just promise me you'll be happy with him."

"I will." He leans forward and kisses me one more time before letting go completely.

"I would have kicked myself for the rest of my life if I didn't get one last kiss." He smiles and turns away, slowly fading into the dark.

I sigh and open the door.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" I jump and turn to see the entire crew in their PJ's glaring at me.

"What are you all doing up?" I stare at them.

"The Captain was so worried about you that he kept us up."

"I wasn't worried." The crew gawked as Mal walked in, the picture of calm. "You guys should get to bed; I need you up and ready in the morning for takeoff."

"It is morning," Wash snarled, stomping with the rest of the crew to their respective bunks.

"How was your date?" I looked at Mal. Everything fit; everything that had been missing found its way back. The eyes, the hands and those damn suspenders.

"It went… well, let's just say there won't be any second dates." I smile and head for my bunk. "Goodnight, Captain."

"Goodnight, Simon." I am almost out of the room when he calls my name again.

"Simon?"

"Yes?"

"Two days from now we're having a meet for the next job on Horris and you're going to have to go with us."

"Sure I'll go."

"I wasn't asking." I smile as he turns and walks toward his bunk.

'_There's no place else I can be since I found Serenity'_

'_Or Malcolm Reynolds.' _


	15. Chapter 15

(I own nothing!)

Mal stared at a cell wall of the prison. An Alliance prison.

He and his crew had been caught smuggling Alliance goods and now they were sitting in a dank and musty cell on a small Alliance space station. Book had been released for some reason lost to Mal and Inara hadn't been arrested at all because the Guild stopped them. But the rest of them were fair game. Kaylee sat in the corner trying not to cry, Wash and Zoe were in another holding each other and Jayne of course was cursing and trying to bend the bars far enough for one of them to slip through. Mal just stood there and stared at the wall. But he wasn't there. He was two months in the past. He was at the last time he saw the blue eyes that made his heart ache with longing and the last time he heard the voice that made him so calm it made him angry. He was at the day before they left.

They all had been sitting at the table munching on protein when he walked in. Simon's usually neat hair still mussed from sleep and his blue eyes hazy and calm. He sat in his seat next to his sister and she leaned into his warmth reminding Mal of the kittens his mother had bought for catching the mice in the barn.

He hadn't known then that it would be the last time he would see them, the last day they would be on his ship. He didn't know that the next morning he would go to yell at them for sleeping in only to find empty beds and a memory in their place. That he would find a note on his pillow with two words on it.

'Thank you.'

And that he would have to tell the rest of them that they were now two pieces short of a whole and that the pieces wouldn't be coming back.

He was pulled out of the dark past back into the even darker present by the scream of old hinges as the prison door was opened. The man that walked in reminded Mal of the reasons he fought for the Independents. He was short, fat and had a smile on his face that caused Kaylee to pull as far back from him as she could in the small cell.

"Well, looks like you won't be in this cell much longer." The man sneered.

"You're letting us go?" Jayne asked from his spot on the floor.

"Oh, heavens no. You're going to be executed."

"What? On what charges?" Mal snarled.

"I'm the judge and jury here and I'm getting tired of you worthless maggots stealing from me. So you get to be examples." The man gave a sickly smile. "You should feel honored that for once you'll be worth something."

Mal glared at him as he turned to leave.

"You have an hour before…" The man drew a finger across his throat making a less than pleasant sound. The man's laughter was mixed with curses from the Big Damn Heroes and Kaylee's sobs.

Mal watched as his crew talked about the was's, the could have beens, the future, the past, the lost and the found. But Mal just watched as his crew said goodbye. He knew there wasn't going to be any way out; he knew this was the end of the line. And like his crew, he thought about the past, but he only thought about the past not daring to wish for a future. And he thought about his crew but mostly he thought about him. If all the 'verse was right and good they never would have met and sometimes he wished they never had. But then the blue eyes danced into his mind and he knew he would give anything for one more second with their owner.

They sit there on the floor holding onto the people who had been their family for so long and wait. Then the clinking of keys reaches their ears and the locks on the door move letting in the two guards and the man.

"Time's up, maggots!" The man is so happy that it makes his face gruesomely contort into a smile.

The crew is pulled to their feet and handcuffs are placed on their wrists, a chain connecting all the handcuffs together, forcing them to line up for the slaughter.

"Ready? Well, try not to lose your heads!" The man laughed and Kaylee began to whimper.

Then the floor shook and the sound of an explosion ricocheted through the station.

"What the hell was that?" The man screamed at the guards. The guards talk into their comm. links, buzzing and a few indecipherable words had the guards looking worried.

"There has been an attack on the treasury, sir." The man's face goes an ugly blotchy purple.

"Get these prisoners to the execution room and kill anyone who gets in your way. Then go and kill the morons who think they can steal from the mighty Alliance!" The man screams at the guards as four more guards file in.

One grabs the chain and the other two walk out in front, pulling them along. Mal glances back to find that as in front, one held the chain and the other two walked in front, forcing the prisoners into the space between the two triangles of guards.

The crew was walked through a maze of walls and people, the people slowly vanished but the walls were their constant companions.

Then after a few minutes of walking they were intercepted by two guards. The hats, like the ones of the guards escorting them, cast their faces in shadow.

"We have a problem. The hallway to the execution room has been hit and depressurized. General Howard sent us to take you the long way." The taller of the two guards said his voice hard.

"May I see your ID please?"

"We're under attack, this hall way could be what they target next, and you want to waste time checking my ID?" The guards roared, causing everyone to jump about a foot in the air.

"W-Well it is protocol to check." The guard stammered.

"Get your sorry ass moving now and maybe I won't report you." The taller guard took up his post in the front and his smaller counterpart took up a position in the middle of the back triangle.

They continued walking for several minutes till one of the guards spoke up.

"Where are we going? The turn for the execution room was two doors back that-"

"AAAAAARGH!" They all turn to see the second of the two guards standing next to the three corpses of the guards, twin daggers clutched in his hands.

"There's been a change in plans." Then his taller partner grabbed the front two guards and bashed their heads together. He released the two new corpses before grabbing the last remaining guard and snapping his neck.

The two grabbed the prisoners' chain and proceeded to drag/run with the crew through the winding hallways. Finally they reach the hanger and the crew is forced into a small shuttle and locked in the cell in the back.

Mal can just barely make out the sound of the taller one on the comm. "Yeah, we got them. No, the damage isn't expensive but we'll have to make sure. We'll be there in thirty minutes. How did phase one go? Good." A click of the switch and all goes quiet. Then the smaller of the two sits in the only chair and watches them, silent.

"What are you going to do with us?" Kaylee's the one who asks. The question hangs in the air as time dances around it. They never get an answer.

The shuttle jumps and lurches as it docks. Mal's stomach drops as the cell door is opened and they are pulled out. Then the hatch opens and they stumble out into a brightly lit room or at least when compared to the dark shuttle.

They blink till the spots clear and they can see without squinting. They're not on an Alliance station or in a room with a firing squad they're on…

"Serenity?" Mal stares as the sound, sights, and smells of his home welcome him back.

"Captain, are you alright?" Mal turns to see Book and Inara making their way down the stairs.

"Shepherd, how? Who the hell are they?" Mal snarled waving his hand at the guards, realizing that at some point in his gawking they had undone the handcuffs on him and his crew.

"They were the only ones I thought you would trust to save you and your crew. He came up with the entire escape plan in less than an hour by himself," Book said giving the crew a once over to assess the damage.

"I don't trust anyone who isn't on my crew. I don't even know who they are!"

"That's not what you said two months ago." The voice of the taller guard caught Mal's attention.

"Two months, 60 days, 1448 hours, 86880 seconds, times the amount of time spent together is not adequate time to forget us. Not unless they're retarded in some form." The voice of the smaller one cut in.

Mal and the crew freeze and turn to look at the guards. The smaller one takes off the top of the jump suit revealing a lacy top, and pulls a skirt on over her head before removing the jump suit fully. She gently whisks off her hat, letting her waist length brown locks tumble out.

The taller guard throws his cap on the pile of clothes before removing his jump suit; his clothes are just as Mal remembered them, white button down, black slacks and a vest. And there they are those blue eyes.

"River, be nice." Her response was to stick out her tongue at him.

"You're back!" Kaylee launches herself at the two, her smile once again lighting up Serenity's walls.

"We liberated some supplies from the station; we also got you some new cargo and managed to get back your weapons."

"Doc you're going to have to tell me where you learned to plan heists like that one of these days," Wash says pulling his favorite dinosaur out of the bag Simon had motioned to.

"We can't stay long," Simon states picking up the garments and placing them in a bag. "We're leaving just as soon as we reach port."

"Why don't you stay?" Zoe asks. "Life is easier with a doctor on board." There are noises of agreement from some of the other crew members.

"We have no reason to, anyway it's better this way." Then he turns and walks towards the infirmary. Mal looks at River who sits on the stairs and talks with Kaylee. River turns and smiles at him.

"There is no other way, is there?" He asks looking at her young face, filled with wonder, childlike innocence and a mouth that could make Jayne blush.

She shakes her head and Mal sighs, picks up his gun, places it in its holster, and walks after the Doc.

"Hey, Doc!" Simon turns.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Why won't you stay?" Simon's face remains blank as he answers.

"I told you we have no reason to."

"You know that you have a reason," Mal says stepping in close to him.

"Do I?" Simon arching an eyebrow.

"You drive a hard bargain."

"I'm an all or nothing kind of guy." Simon is so close now Mal could taste him when he breathes. "So what will it be, Captain? All?" He leans in towards Mal's ear letting his breath ghost across it. "Or nothing?" He leans away to look Mal full in the face.

Mal smirks and opens his mouth.

"I choose…"

(Attention readers! This will be my last story for a while. I have been having really bad writers block for this particular story and so will be taking a break. I will continue them at a later date.)


End file.
